Donations kick off dog run project

A funding request to create an outdoor area for the dogs housed at the Nye County Animal Shelter in Pahrump may have been voted down this month but thanks to the generosity of Rene Morales of Morales Construction and Top Rank Builders, the groundwork for the project is being laid at no cost to the county.

On Monday, June 30, Nye County Commissioner John Koenig invited the Pahrump Valley Times to the shelter to watch as a tractor and water truck worked in tandem to begin the process of clearing and grading the space where the outdoor play area is planned.

“This started with an agenda item for $200,000 of county money to make the dog run and outdoor play area behind the shelter, for the poor animals that are locked up all day and hate it,” Koenig told the Times, referring to his fellow commissioner Ian Bayne’s recent agenda item proposal. “But the county doesn’t have $200,000 to spend on anything. As much as I love the dogs and cats, and what the people who run the shelter here do for them, we don’t have that kind of money. So, me being me, I went out and talked to people I know.”

That’s when Morales got wind of the project and reached out to Koenig to offer his services, free of charge.

“Rene professes a profound love for animals and, as you can see, these are Rene’s machines. He offered to come out here and clear the entire back area here, then he’s going to put type-2 gravel down and cover that with pea gravel, so it’s going to look awesome when he is done,” Koenig detailed. “And this is all at no cost to the county. He’s donating his time, his money, his people, his equipment and all of the rock.”

The groundwork is only one element in the project, however. The panels to create the dog run are already on site — many left over from the time that shelter had to immediately house around 300 large-breed dogs that were seized in 2022 — but additional fencing is still needed. Koenig is hoping that within his network of known businesses and residents, he will find more who are willing to lend a hand to help the shelter animals.

“It’s not a ‘one person does it all’ thing — if we all chip in, a little bit each, then we can all be heroes,” Koenig remarked. “That’s the goal here. No cost, but end up with the same thing that we want — and maybe even better. There’s other ways to do some of these kinds of projects without spending money.”

As to why the dog run project is important to the shelter, Nye County Animal Shelter Manager Kristi Siegmund said it’s all about quality of life for the animals.

“We have over 100 dogs in the shelter currently. Having a yard and the ability to get outside for prolonged amounts of time — more than just a five-minute walk — is really going to improve their mental health,” Siegmund stated. “It’ll improve their energy, so they are not going stir-crazy. We have beautiful kennels inside but nobody wants to be in a kennel or a room for 23 of the 24 hours in a day. So, this will give them the opportunity to really run and play and fetch and just be dogs.

“Not only will it improve their mental health, it also improves their adoptability,” Siegmund continued. “We do some personality assessing now, of course, during their walks and in rooms we dedicate to one-on-one interaction. But this will add another layer of us being able to communicate to potential adopters the true personality and mannerisms of the dogs.”

Siegmund also stressed the need for more helping hands at the shelter, where volunteer efforts are a crucial part of the operation.

“Volunteerism is incredibly important,” Siegmund noted. “I tell our volunteers now, even an hour or just 30 minutes on your lunch break, to come over here and help us walk a dog or do some dishes or throw a load of laundry in, that’s one less thing that our very small team has do worry about later. A lot of people think volunteering means coming all day long or for hours and hours but you’d be amazed how much of a difference even 30 minutes can make. And it’s the same with adoptions. If we could have just 1% of the population of Pahrump, 50 people, come in and adopt, we’d have almost every one of our adoptable animals out of the shelter.”

Siegmund expressed her gratitude to commissioner Koenig, Morales, Nye County Buildings and Grounds Director William Allen and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office and its inmate volunteers for the work in getting the dog run project started.

The Nye County Animal Shelter in Pahrump is located at 1580 E. Siri Lane and can be contacted at 775-751-7020.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com