Hi Tor Contributes Funding to New Shelter Building

This week County Executive Ed Day met with an unlikely donor to secure additional funding for a new county animal shelter. Pit bull mix Roo presented Executive Day with two checks totaling $472,578 at the Hi Tor Animal Care Center in Pomona to be used for the construction of a new shelter building.

“We are so thankful to Hi Tor and all of the folks who donated to their shelter fund over the years for this contribution,” said Day. “We will put this funding to good use in building the new state of the art facility to care for our County’s animals. We had expected roughly $350,000 from Hi Tor, so this amount is a pleasant surprise which will reduce the amount of County tax dollars going to the project.”

“We are proud to be able to contribute the nearly half a million dollars in our shelter fund to this important work; all thanks to our many generous supporters. On behalf of the Hi Tor Animal Care Center Board of Directors, we want to extend our appreciation to County Executive Day, the County Legislature and all of Rockland County for realizing the need and urgency in building a new shelter here at Hi Tor. Many of our animals have already had such a hard little life by the time they join us, and we are now overjoyed for them. We are so looking forward to a great place for our animals, volunteers, and staff,” said Hi Tor Board President Debbie DiBernardo.

Rauhaus Freedenfeld & Associates Architects has provided progress design plans and specifications calling for a new ~14,000 square foot shelter replacing the current 4,000 square foot facility. Upon receipt of the final design plans and specifications, Rockland County will then solicit bids and a construction contract will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. The new facility will be built to accommodate future expansion if necessary.

A total of $8.3 million has been budgeted for the new shelter. The majority of the money, 6.9 million, will come from a capital project fund established by the county government. $472,578 will come from the Hi Tor Shelter Fund, and grants secured by Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski and the New York State Companion Animal Capital Fund will contribute an additional one million dollars towards the new shelter.

“We know that our dogs and cats are in need of an upgrade, and we will soon be able to provide them with the best available care in a space more than three times the size of their current facility. We expect to have shovels in the ground by late fall of this year and are extremely excited about this collaborative effort which is a critical shared service between Rockland County and the Towns. Despite the fact that County government is not required to build or maintain a shelter, having the County take the leadership role and build this new facility means that the Towns will not have the burden of building their own shelters or finding alternative plans at a significant cost; a clear savings for residents and a victory for the animals we all care about,” said Executive Day.

While Roo, the pit bull mix, is in the process of being adopted there are numerous cats, dogs and other small animals at Hi Tor in need of a loving home. To learn more about pet adoption from Hi Tor visit their website: https://www.hitor.org/adopt-a-pet