New home for Pets and People a dream come true

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New home for Pets and People a dream come true

Tue, 12/08/2020 - 10:22
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Officials at Pets and People estimate the rescue facility is just days away from settling into its forever home.

“We are hoping by very early December that we can be operational,” said executive director Amy Young.

Located near Morgan Road and Reno at 9753 NW 4th St., the new location has everything the pet rescue could have wanted.

The building has been fully remodeled and includes about 1,600 square feet of office space in the front, with an additional 6,100 square feet of warehouse space in the back.

It’s been a tumultuous year for the pet rescue.

In June, Pets and People received word from the city of Yukon that it had to vacate the building it previously shared with Yukon Animal Control by the end of the year.

In January, the city had moved its animal control operation to its new facility at 701 Inla.

Originally, the rescue had planned to build a dedicated rescue center on three acres it already owns, but COVID-19 affected that timeline.

On top of that, last month an ice storm left the rescue facility without power for five days.

“Our supporters really came through, and they helped to make extra donations, because the store was also closed that week,” Young said. “And we were running a lot of overtime because we still had to have people to take care of the pets. The community has been fantastic for that.”

Despite the hurdles the rescue has faced, adoptions have been steady, Young said.

“It’s been really good,” she said.

“Every adoption is good, but we have had special needs dogs and cats placed.”

One such dog named Lloyd has become something of a poster child for what Pets and People is all about.

“Lloyd is kind of a Facebook favorite,” Young said.

“He was nearly starved to death. We had him for 14 weeks, and he just got adopted. It’s really been very amazing to see. Lloyd represents in 2020 all of the things that people know - that there’s still good in the world.”

Overall, Pets and People has logged 867 adoptions in 2020 – no small number considering the fact those adoptions took place during a global pandemic.

“We’re very, very happy that we can continue to rescue and then place amazing pets with their forever families,” Young said.

“I think something the pandemic has brought to the forefront is that when people are at home, it can be really lonely. People have relied on their pets more than ever before.”