PORT ANGELES — In about a month, once all the nooks and crannies are scrubbed and updates are complete, Olympic Peninsula Humane Society is planning to reopen its dog facility, Bark House.
Since the facility closed last July, citing unsustainable operating costs, it has gone through a personnel overhaul, the resignation of its executive director and calls for increased transparency from the community.
During the past few weeks, staff and contractors have been “tirelessly sanitizing” and refurbishing Bark House, said Paul Stehr-Green, OPHS board president and acting executive director.
After learning from past mistakes, OPHS also is updating its procedures, he added.
Previously, Stehr-Green had hoped the facility would be open by early January. But, “as we got into this, we discovered more and more issues we had to deal with,” he said.
Now, he is pushing to have the facility open by Valentine’s Day.
Staff’s top priority is sanitization. Due to inadequate cleaning procedures, the place “was a mess,” Stehr-Green said.
The drains were clogged with dog hair, grime covered every part of the kennels and there were stacks of unusable dog beds, cat crates and spilled chemicals.
“We’re going top to bottom,” said Red Parsons, Kitty City assistant manager who will help run the Bark House. “We’re getting things back to functional.”
Staff spent hours cleaning every corner of the kennels — removing peanut butter, mud and feces that had accumulated.
“Now, I can touch them,” Parsons said, smiling.
They also dug out old caulking and will reseal all the cracks.
Staff also are replacing damaged parts and making some small upgrades. That includes replacing some fiberglass reinforced plastic siding and window casings that had been damaged by water and dogs.
Safety doors that can be opened from outside the kennels also will be installed for all the dog runs.
That will be “friendlier for the dogs and humans,” Stehr-Green said.
A design flaw in the HVAC system also will be fixed. Previously, the system circulated air between the isolation rooms and the other rooms, meaning germs were spread to healthy dogs.
“We’re changing that,” Stehr-Green said.
Now air from the isolation room will immediately go outside. In addition, air from the intake kennels likely will be filtered with HEPA filters, Stehr-Green added.
Although the updates aren’t complete, staff said they can already see and feel the difference. Last week, OPHS’ secretary walked through the facility for the first time in about a month.
“She started crying because it looks so good,” Stehr-Green said. “And she’s not a softie.”
Stehr-Green is hoping that procedural changes will bar the repetition of past mistakes.
Previously, staff converted the visitation rooms and the staff rooms to makeshift kennels so they could accept more dogs. That will no longer happen.
Now, only the east side kennels and the intake kennels will be consistently used. The kennels on the west side will be reserved for exigent situations such as periods of mass infection, or if OPHS renews its contract with the county, Stehr-Green said.
The spread of infection also will be mitigated, he added. When a dog comes into the Bark House, it will now be automatically dewormed, defleaed, vaccinated and have a fecal sample tested.
If it does not show any symptoms, it will be kept in the intake kennels for two weeks before it’s placed with the general population.
In the past, dogs were moved after two days.
If the dog does exhibit symptoms at any point, it will be moved to the isolation kennels.
The isolation area will be strictly controlled. Staff have created a separate cleaning station nearby to prevent the spread of germs, and it will be staff’s last stop in cleaning before exiting straight outside. Full protective gear also will be worn when cleaning.
OPHS is creating a better exercise plan, a consistent euthanasia policy and new cleaning procedures — including daily sanitation.
Meagan Karnes, head trainer and president of Rise Rescue Alliance, is training the staff on how to work with dogs, Stehr-Green said.
Now, the organization’s culture is focused on three principles: commitment to the mission, accountability and respect for animals and staff.
Previously, Stehr-Green said the two facilities didn’t communicate with each other and even held a certain degree of animosity toward each other. To mitigate that, Michelle Gentry, Kitty City manager, also will manage Bark House.
All staff will work in both facilities.
“This is hard work,” Stehr-Green said. “But everybody has their eyes on the prize.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
