WE’RE BUILDING THE DREAM WITH YOUR HELP! 

Watch a miracle come together as we move forward to the opening of the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center! With the help of many wonderful donors, Chattanooga begins a new chapter as a progressive animal welfare community. We’ll add new photos on a weekly basis so come back often to see us grow. This is your animal center – it belongs to the community. You are welcome to visit the site at 4500 N. Access Road to see the progress in person. We hope that you will visit the Center often after we open our doors in the summer of 2008. We greatly appreciate your continued support. 

People demanded it, animals deserve it!
It all starts with location. The 26,000 square foot Center is being built on 10 acres of land in a wooded setting, neighbored by soccer fields, a disk golf course, and a new recycling center. The land immediately adjacent to the facility will be developed into a dog park and a memorial walk.  This friendly, active atmosphere will provide citizens with another location to spend time with their pets, congregate, socialize, and possibly adopt a new family member. 

The Center will provide ample space to house animals for adoption, facilitate education and outreach, practice medical and behavioral evaluation and treatment, and oversee animal services officers who will enforce legislation and investigate cruelty cases. Center design is based on best practices from around the nation.  Dog kennels, cat condos, and extensive exercise areas have been designed to be easily cleaned and attractively maintained.  By housing the many aspects of animal care under one roof, the Center will serve as a clearinghouse of information and a resource for all citizens to experience the diverse facets of animal companionship and responsible stewardship. 

Center design includes the following features:

      Individual dog kennels and cat condos with a screened-in porch for cats

      Each dog kennel will have its own window providing natural light to provide warmth and a sense of well being plus some diseases can’t survive ultraviolet light

      Indoor/outdoor runs with small and large fenced-in exercise areas

      Flushable floor drains to minimize odors and reduce the spread of disease

      Education classroom, library and resource area

      Real-life rooms (by simulating an actual living room with a chair, rug, radio, etc. – these rooms allow dogs to practice their “indoor manners” and allow staff to assess what a dog is like indoors)

      Get acquainted rooms – these rooms allow potential adopters one-on-one time with a dog or cat in a private, quiet setting.

      Surgical suite so an injured animal can receive immediate care. Plus all Center animals will receive necessary tests, vaccinations, medications and a spay or neuter surgery prior to adoption

      Isolation and quarantine areas which allows animals to be held until they receive a health evaluation

      Grooming and laundry areas

      Puppy pens so they have their own area away from the big dogs

      Bright, welcoming lobby with featured animal areas

      Area for small and exotic animals

More than just a building!
The animals that have the best chance for survival are those that have an advocate. The McKamey Center’s policies are being designed so that each animal will receive a medical and behavioral evaluation and then be partnered with an individual volunteer, rescue group, or foster home.  The McKamey Center will in essence serve as an advocacy and outreach center for the stray and abandoned animals in this community. 

A few of the programs and classes that the Center will offer: 

      Medical and behavioral assessments of animals entering the facility

      Adoption services and education including “pet parenting” classes, adoption packets, training sessions

      Networking with rescue and foster homes to get animals

      Volunteer program with opportunities such as dog walker, cat cuddler, animal care specialist, adoption counselor, greeter, office assistant, events assistant

      Adoption of older animals to senior citizens, pet meals to pets of needy people, pet therapy in hospitals and nursing homes

      Dog bite prevention classes, dog training and kitty kindergarten classes

      Summer camps for kids

      Lots of events like Yappy Hour, Dogs on the Diamond, Doggie Paddle, Stray Cat Strut