New Parma animal shelter open

Since opening its doors October 12, it has been raining cats and more cats at the Kathleen Tenny Animal Shelter. The shelter, located at 1215 Hilton Parma Corners Road, has received over a dozen cats, but is home to only one dog so far.

"It has been a little slow," said Beth Garlock, who manages the shelter. Garlock said things should really begin to take off when the shelter is finally granted non-profit status, which will allow the group to start accessing the money left by Ms. Tenny. Garlock said more money will allow the group to purchase needed cages and to make needed changes.

For now, the shelter is limited in the number of animals it can house. There is a waiting list of residents who need to drop off their cats and dogs. Thus far the demand has really been mainly finding a home for many kittens.

Volunteers come in to help Garlock and provide the animals with some love and attention. On this day, Kaitlynn Jacobs, a seventh grader at Merton Williams and a neighbor of Garlock, is playing with a litter of kittens. "Kaitlynn is a loyal volunteer," said Garlock. The shelter is looking for more people like Jacobs. One such person is Parma resident Bill Turnquist. He stops by to relieve Garlock for awhile from time to time. "When I heard about the shelter I thought ‘What better way to spend some extra time,’ " said Turnquist. "These animals need people to look after them."

In addition to more volunteers, Garlock said, the shelter needs donations. Gifts of canned dog food, cat food, kitty litter, scratching posts, cat treats and toys are welcome.

Donna LaForce, a member of the animal shelter committee, said having the shelter open is an answer to four years of hard work. "The public has helped us to really move this project forward," said LaForce. "I hope through volunteering and donations they will continue to support this shelter." LaForce said there is still much work to do and many decisions that still need to be made to direct the future of the shelter. One of the original goals of the committee was to own the property that the shelter would use. The current building, which is the former Falcheck Veterinary Clinic, is leased and there are some concerns that it will not be large enough to provide for as many animals as desired. However, for now the committee's focus is on making the current location work and making sure the shelter is staffed with volunteers.

Parma Supervisor Rick Lemcke said he is excited to watch the shelter in action. "This project was a long time in the making," said Lemcke. "This group is really into what they are doing and they have been working really hard."

The shelter is open Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The plan is to expand evening hours.