The Yukon government is contributing $22,000 to help the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter improve its heating system and prevent the outbreak of diseases.
Part of the work involves sealing up cracks in the floor of the shelter’s isolation room, where sick animals are cared for.
Highly contagious diseases such as the parvovirus can survive for up to seven years in those cracks, according to Dan Moore, the shelter’s executive director.
“With those cracks it’s hard to get the sanitizing solutions down there to make sure we’re eliminating it,” he said.
“Once we’ve sealed it up we’ll have a good area that’s easy to clean, and we won’t have to worry about issues that could be laying dormant.”
Moore said there was a parvovirus outbreak at the shelter last fall. The disease is treatable, he adds, and many dogs that have had it have been adopted out to families.
Other rooms in the shelter with concrete floors will also be repaired, including the main hallway and the back area.
The shelter is also replacing its aging oil boiler with a more modern propane one. It should save the shelter about 25 per cent in heating costs, Moore said.
The cost to repair the flooring is about $12,000, he said, while the boiler replacement will be closer to $18,000. Fred’s Plumbing & Heating is also donating $3,000 in-kind to install the furnace.
Moore said the balance would be covered by “generous” donations the shelter has received in the past year, especially at Christmas.
“This year we tripled our projection in donations, and the fiscal year isn’t finished yet,” Moore said. “The community itself and the general public are really the big supporters of the shelter.”