Animal shelter plans open house

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Animal Shelter will hold its first monthly open house today in an ongoing effect to familiarize the public with the facility.

Open-house hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the shelter at 225 Cemetery Road south of Kalispell. There will be adoption specials and a vaccination clinic that offers vaccines and rabies shots for $15 each.

"We want to encourage pet owners to establish relationships with their veterinarians, but many people can't afford the [full] price of vaccinations and we want to make sure they're compliant," Shelter Manager Kirsten Holland said.

Ellie Bell will give classes on dog obedience and Holland will talk about the shelter's growing foster program.

The shelter staff continuously works toward its goal of being a low-kill shelter, and the results now are tangible, Holland said.

"We have about 60 dogs and 60 cats right now," she said. "Last year at this time we had over 100."

The economic downturn has caused more Flathead residents to give up their pets, but even so, the shelter is "in a better starting place" as the facility approaches its busy summer season, Holland added.

For more information about the county shelter and how to adopt a pet, call 752-1310 or go online at http://flathead.mt.gov/animal