Latest on the Shelter Rebuild

We are so happy to inform that Phase 2 of the Shelter Rebuild is well underway! For those that did not read our post on Phase 1 of the rebuild, we began renovations soon after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. The natural disaster caused the rebuild to move up on our priority list.

Phase 1 involved resealing the roof to prevent further water damage; removing and reinstalling new gating throughout the Shelter, including the gates of the dog runs; and replacing the coverings for the front and back patio. All this was possible with funding from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ® (ASPCA) and PEDIGREE Foundation ®.

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With our beautiful new gating installed, we needed to do some construction and aesthetic updates as soon as possible! Without much of a breather, we quickly moved on to focus on Phase 2, which was made possible by a shelter rebuild grant awarded by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), International.

Moving through Phase 2

First, we repaired and improved on the roof of the interior and exterior of the shelter. This involved fixing the rebar, which had been damaged over time and had worsened with water damage, repatching cement on the ceilings and walls, and installing new fans to make sure the pups were properly ventilated. Below are some of the photos during the construction.

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There was a lot of drilling going on for days at a time, but the doggies took it like champs. They got along great with the construction workers as well.
After the work was done, we felt all felt much safer.

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Next, all that repatching needed to be painted! The shelter had not been painted in 8 years, so the job was long overdue. We turned to Sherwin Williams, who generously donated six large buckets of paint: 2 bright white, 2 beige and 2 of our favorite color—blue (of course)!

Over the course of three weekends, Americorps NCCC volunteers painted the interior of the shelter a bright white. The new paint makes the interior of the shelter more alive and welcoming.

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Next, we started on preparing the outside for painting, which was more of a task. First, we pressure-washed the interior patio to get rid of the dirt and peeling paint. But this was not enough. When we started scrapping off the remaining paint, the scrapping would not stop, we just kept pulling off more and more paint! Plus, sometimes the paint would stick to the cement and pulling it off was a grueling job.

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We soon learned this was no regular painting job for volunteers. But we did our best!

Lucky for us, Terminix came to the rescue, hiring personnel to finish the job. The patio and remaining walls were pressure washed again with stronger equipment. (By the way, the Terminix team also donates graciously by coming to the shelter once a month to fumigate, which keeps our dogs and shelter pest-free). Now, we can also thank the company and its President Mark Kitchenman for the some much-needed home improvement work.

And with such a blue and beautiful shelter, it is an absolute necessity to keep it secure. Terminix has also donated additional LED lighting as well as motion-activated security lighting to install throughout the shelter. However, first, we need to figure out some electrical issues we are having, and which have exacerbated since the hurricane. We are waiting for estimates from a licensed electrician to take care of the issues. We know it will be expensive, but it is needed.

We want to again thank SPCA International for donating the majority of the funds that made Phase 2 of the rebuild possible. SPCA International was founded in the United States in 2006, and has the mission to advance the safety and well-being of animals. SPCA International has assisted over 313 animal shelters and rescue groups around the world, and helped spay and neuter thousands of animals. The organization strives to with the impact made by independent shelters through alliance building, information networking, and national and international programs. 

Last, but hardly least, no Amigos de los Animales post is complete without pictures of our pups, all taken by our visiting photographer Dominik Fleischmann! Here are a few of our buddies, all for adoption:

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