FORT BENTON — Looking for something to do Friday evening? Consider paying it forward to the furry friends at the Dedman Animal Shelter in Fort Benton. After a years-long hiatus, the Barkfest Fundraiser benefitting the animal shelter is making its return.
The evening will feature a dinner, live music, silent and live auctions, and much more. The shelter relies on donations to reach their goals.
This year, the shelter plans to address the lack of safe kennel space for its dogs.
“It seems like all the kennels around are full. People are calling me from Missoula, Billings, even Washington State,” says Shelter Manager, Katie Flynn. “we don't really safely have room because we can only take a small amount.”
Currently the shelter has 11 indoor kennels and six outdoor kennels which dogs split time between. The hope is, with adequate funding, they can add four more outdoor kennels, providing a personal space for each dog.
When at capacity, the lack of individualized spaces can pose a safety and health hazard.
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“Not all dogs cohabitate well,” says Flynn.
Additionally, the fencing on the indoor and outdoor kennels needs to be standardized to a safe chain-link material. Quick fixes just won’t cut it in the long term.
“There's a lot of deferred maintenance in the kennels that we have now. There's a lot of patching with oven parts, you know, like the rack of an oven to make up holes and stuff,” Flynn says.
Perhaps most notably, the shelter wants to construct a fence for a community dog park, an amenity sorely missing from the town. This would allow residents to bring their animals to run around and even partake in training sessions, courtesy of the shelter. It would also be an additional space for dogs housed at the shelter to run around.
Montana Fencing Company has been contacted to complete the dog park job, which would cost in the neighborhood of $9,000. The additional kennels would cost roughly $14,000.
Additional maintenance includes clearing trees and leveling the land in order to accommodate the projects. The Dedman Foundation is also looking to repair their septic drain field.
The Dedman Foundation wishes to thank the over 30 donors who have contributed in some way to making the evening a reality. The pieces have been flying in since September, when Flynn began organizing everything.
“People said there was no way we could get it all ready in two months,” she says. “But here we are!”
The Barkfest Fundraiser will be held at the Montana Agricultural Center in Fort Benton, beginning at 5pm on Friday, November 15th. Click here to visit the website, or call 406-622-5657 for more information.
