The fundraising campaign for a new Ames Animal Shelter is $300,000 from meeting its $7.5 million goal.
The city of Ames has purchased a building and some land for the construction of a new animal shelter at 2715 Dayton Ave. The shelter, however, needed $7.5 million to support development of the new facility, including a complete renovation of the building, which was previously a daycare facility.
The current building is 30 years old, small, inadequate and inefficient, according to a news release from the city of Ames. The building itself, plus a small trailer, is about 5,000 square feet. The new building will be about 11,000 square feet plus six acres of land.
The new facility will:
- Increase the number of animals served and protected
- Accommodate in-house medical care for sheltered animals
- Provide space for a pet food pantry
- Create adequate spaces for sheltered animals
The biggest service the shelter would be able to offer is on-site surgeries, said Ron Edwards, Ames Animal Control Supervisor, on a recent Ames in Focus podcast.
“The animals will actually have a surgery suite on site, where hopefully students from Iowa State University can come there with a professor, considering they’re in their fourth year, and they’ll be there with the vet and their professor, and can perform surgeries on site,” Edwards said.
The new facility will also have better housing, plus extra space inside and outside for the animals to play.
“The improvements are just going to be incredible and just amazing,” Edwards said. “When I think about it, I cannot stop. I’m just getting so excited about this project, and I just want it to happen tomorrow.”
Raising $7.5 million for the new facility
The city bought the land with the intention for the shelter to grow with the city, said Nancy Carroll, who is coordinating fundraising for the shelter.
Of the $7.2 million raised, the city council allocated $3 million and the project received another $3 million from anonymous donors. The public campaign aimed to involve adopters, volunteers and the community at large, with over 580 households contributing $200,000.
“It’s been a total team effort,” Carroll said.
Carroll and Emily Sargent worked together to raise enough money for the new shelter.
“We had another volunteer group who would get donations to just increase public awareness,” she said. “So that’s, again, that tag team approach and having a team is what made us successful.”
Carroll said the campaign also reached out to people who have adopted pets from the shelter. She credited people’s willingness to help to their positive experiences with the shelter and its staff.
“People have a great experience,” Carroll said. “They know the animals need to be adopted, but that they are well provided for and protected in the animal shelter staff’s care and the volunteers. That’s been another reason people have wanted to get behind this project financially.”
The shelter has a 98% adoption rate, according to the city of Ames website.
A rough timeline for the new shelter
The campaign is aiming to have construction bids early in 2026 and “hopefully start construction,” Edwards said in the podcast.
“Hopefully (we) start construction early spring — March of 2026,” Edwards said. “At least at this point what we’re hoping for is that we will be in the new facility spring or maybe summer of 2027.”
Adoption deals and fundraising opportunities
Now through Oct. 31, adoption fees at the Ames Animal Shelter will be reduced:
- Adult cats (6 months and older): $25
- Kittens (under 6 months): Two for $100
- Adult dogs (6 months and older): $50
The shelter’s usual application and appointment procedures still apply, with the goal of ensuring each adoption is the best possible match for both animal and adopter.
Cats:
- Exams from head to tail by the shelter’s Registered Veterinary Technician
- Completion of a spay/neuter prior to adoption
- Vaccinations for rabies and the FVRCP combination
- A test for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus and heartworm status
- Tests for intestinal parasites at a laboratory and treatment for any identified intestinal parasites
- A flea preventative
- A microchip with 24PetWatch (lifetime registration included)
- A carrier to get the cat safely home
- A starter kit of the cat’s shelter diet to help transition to a home diet
- A folder with the cat’s full, detailed medical records
- A post-adoption email with informational links and documents, as well as an electronic version of the medical history
Dogs:
- Exams from head to tail by the shelter’s Registered Veterinary Technician
- Completion of a spay/neuter prior to adoption
- Vaccinations for rabies, DHPP (a five-in-one shot) and Bordetella (kennel cough)
- A test for heartworms and a current heartworm preventative
- Tests for intestinal parasites at a laboratory and treatment for any identified intestinal parasites
- A flea preventative
- A microchip with 24PetWatch (lifetime registration included)
- A collar, leash, and ID tag to get the dog safely home
- A starter kit of the dog’s shelter diet to help transition to a home diet
- A folder with the dog’s full, detailed medical records
- A post-adoption email with informational links and documents, as well as an electronic version of the medical history
