Tag: Challis

Thanks to a donor willing to pony up $400,000, Challis will get a privately owned animal shelter to take in stray or abandoned dogs, cats, horses and other animals.

The Challis region has no dedicated animal shelter; the nearest facility is 58 miles to the north in Salmon, in neighboring Lemhi County.

Construction is expected to start in July on the $520,000, 2,800-square-foot Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary. It will be able to house up to 20 dogs, 40 cats and a half dozen horses, said Tirzah Stuart, the shelter’s founder and chief executive.

Completion is anticipated for September, pending the conclusion of the fundraising campaign. Stuart said she has enough funding in place to at least build enough of the structure to enclose it from the elements.

The Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary is a social-media driven grassroots effort launched by Stuart with a posting on the Custer Classifieds Facebook account, which has 3,672 members in a county with 4,200 residents. She got started by announcing she would be at the bowling alley if anyone was interested in starting an animal shelter. A dozen people showed up.

“This is my third and a half year trying to get this built,” said Stuart, who moved to Custer County from the McCall area, where she worked for MCPAWS Regional Animal Shelter. Over the years, she has volunteered at other animal shelters. “I have a degree in veterinary technology. I felt I had a skill set I could offer the community.”

The first two years didn’t have much momentum until Stuart set up a pet day care booth last year at the annual Braun Brothers Reunion Festival in Challis.

That attracted the attention of an anonymous Custer County resident, who gave Heart of Idaho $300,000 to purchase the 10-acre property in October at a cost of $98,000, leaving $200,000 for design and construction. The same donor pledged an additional $100,000 pending a $100,000 community match, Stuart said.

Custer County awarded Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, a property tax exemption, County Clerk Lura Baker said.

Animal control in the city is limited to the city of Challis paying a monthly $85 retainer to Lone Pine Animal Hospital to take in stray dogs. Three bays are set aside for city use, Challis City Clerk Kellie Wahlstrom said.

“They work with the humane society in Salmon (neighboring Lemhi County) to get animals adopted,” Wahlstrom said. “They try not to euthanize them.”

The city retainer requires Lone Pine to keep an animal for only five days. After that, an unclaimed animal can be adopted or “humanely destroyed,” according to the city’s contract with Lone Pine.

“He can’t take animals from the county,” Stuart said. “If you’re out of the city, you’re out of luck.”

That’s where the Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary will come in. Located adjacent to Challis Airport on U.S. 93, the sanctuary is designed for animals not to be in kennels all the time. Five acres will be dedicated for dogs and cats and five acres for other livestock, Stuart said.

“The mission is to be a sanctuary. So we have a place for animals to run,” she said.

Bellevue architect Jolyon Sawrey, owner of Vital Ink, designed the sanctuary and Challis builder Rick Forestier is the general contractor.

Stuart and Heart of Idaho Animal Sanctuary board members will run the sanctuary until grants can be secured to hire a kennel manager.

“To get a grant from PetSmart, Petco or the humane society, you have to meet a standard,” Stuart said.