This beautiful and quiet shelter is located within a vast outstretch of oak and maple trees. They serve as a cover to keep the shelter safe and secure. The only way of reaching it is through a service road that has its own exit off of a populated highway. There are some infrequent complaints about not being able to locate the service road that leads to the shelter, but most of those complaints come from tourists that had just moved into the area. It’s located in Oregon, where the air is clean and the trees are green. The atmosphere is enjoyable for the staff and the animals alike. Nearby, there was also a wide river that would lead to a grand lake, where campers would come out to enjoy the view. As a special treat, the staff would walk the dogs there as a little field trip away from the shelter.
The shelter itself is comfortable and mid-sized, made entirely of wood and coated with a thick white paint. The windows had shutters that were a darker shade of blue, and the roofing had shingles that matched the color. From the outside it looked very similar to a well-built house. But there were some obvious differences, including the outside runs that could be seen from the small parking lot and the enclosed cat play areas that jutted out from the right side of the building. Gardens of beautiful plant life sat in little gardens at the entrance, along with many welcoming and homey signs and decorations. Once you walked through the door, there was a quaint receptionist area with 3-4 waiting chairs and a neat, organized desk. On either side, there were two doors. One led to the dogs and one led to the cats. This shelter only housed dogs and cats, and it was the simplicity of the shelter that kept people coming back. The dog kennels were decently sized, and inside each was a plush dog bed, a toy, and two bowls. One for food and one for water. Each kennel also had a dog-sized door on the back wall. They were opened every morning for the dogs to go in and out at their leisure, but around dusk they close them for the night. In the cat room, there were several cat enclosures that resembled cages. However they cages were comfortable and decently spaced, and each one had a blanket that covered the entirety of the floor, plus two bowls, a litter box, and two toys. Every day the cats in the shelter were taken to the cat play enclosure for 2-4 hours a day so that they are able to stretch their legs. There was room in the shelter for exactly 12 dogs and 15 cats.
“I’ve always dreamed of opening up a simple shelter that has limited capacity, so that our adopters are more likely to adopt a pet on the same day they arrive. In large scale shelters, adopters are pressured by all of the choices and also the less than par conditions and the noise. In my shelter, I eliminate all of that by having comfortable living conditions for the animals that we do have, instead of having to budget all of our money simply for food and toys due to the growing populations. We want our animals comfortable, and we want our adopters to feel as though they have choices, but not in an overwhelming way. That’s how my idea for Freedom Oaks was born.“
