The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie Randolph County Humane Society Shelter Manager Kelly Scheidegger, who has been with RCHS since 2002, was the first to dig during the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday afternoon.

ELKINS — The Randolph County Humane Society broke ground Monday afternoon for a new $385,000 cat shelter, which will offer a reception space, a quarantine location for sick cats, a surgical and recovery suite, and more.

Attended by workers, volunteers, board members and community residents, the ground-breaking ceremony took place at the shelter on 195 Weese Street in Elkins.

“We have dreamed of replacing this old, faithful building for decades, and here we are,” RCHS board member and former president Tina Vial said in a dedication speech. “The building that used to stand here was the original RCHS building… It had been repaired, refurbished, repurposed, renovated and now retired and laid to honorable rest… And now it comes with a resurrection!”

The cat shelter will provide a new visitor reception area for all shelter operations, “catios” to allow cats to have outside playtime, quarantine for new intakes and isolation space for sick cats, and a future surgical and recovery suite that will eventually provide low-cost spay and neuter services for the community.

The quarantine and isolation space, Vial explained, will help the shelter improve the overall health of the cat population and allow adoptions of healthy cats to continue without any interruptions. 

“While this isn’t necessarily going to increase our capacity, because we’ll be able to have about the same number of cats at a time that we had before, but we’ll be able to move them still faster and that’s the goal,” Vial told The Inter-Mountain on Monday.

The surgical and recovery suite will also give RCHS the ability to offer low-cost spay and neuter services.

“It costs us almost as much for spay and neuter services as it does the public,” Vial said. “People don’t realize that. They think that we get that done free and we don’t. We have to pay for that. So funding is critical for us to be able to do spay and neuter. If we’re doing it ourselves and we only have to pay a vet and buy the supplies, then that changes the whole game.”

Thirty percent of RCHS’ financial goal for the $385,000 project, which is being tracked on a progress thermometer outside of Builder’s Supply on 11th Street, had been reached as of Monday.

“Thanks to two incredibly generous anonymous donors, one in memory of beloved cat Albert, and the other matching up to $25,000 in donations, we’re building a modern facility that will transform the lives of countless cats,” RCHS posted on social media. “Donate today and double your impact! Your financial gift will be matched, so let’s turn $25,000 into $50,000!”

RCHS asks potential donors to either:

∫ Drop off their donation at the shelter at 195 Weese Street.

∫ Mail their donation to PO Box 785, Elkins WV 26241, with a notice that the donation is for the building campaign.

∫ Donate online at web.charityengine.net/Default.aspx?tsid=32904

Vial explained that they would like to have the new building completed by fall, before the snowy winter season.

“Please keep this project and our staff, volunteers and construction crew in your prayers for their safety in this project, and watch for opportunities in the coming weeks and months to support our new facility,” Vial said at the end of the ceremony.

For more information, contact the Randolph County Humane Society at 304-636-7844, or contact President Jenna Lee at 304-704-3775.