Police clutter Soap Lake dog shelter

Six puppies ready for adoption

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake animal shelter is cluttered with police department surplus.

"I don't want it to look like a dump out there," shelter volunteer Laurie Buechler said. "I'd like to see all that stuff out of there."

She and her husband Walter came before the council to request some long overdue help with the situation. She asked the police department numerous times over the past two years to look into rethinking where they store their surplus.

The first time the recently hired Police Chief Jim Dorris heard about the issue was during the Soap Lake Council meeting Wednesday.

"We'll review it and see what we can do, I'm not sure what's up there," Dorris said in response to her request. "We've got 40 years worth of bicycles we haven't gotten rid of."

The majority of the surplus is bicycles, he said.

The outside area and one of the four kennels available to the shelter is used to store the surplus, she said. Although there has yet to be a time when the fourth kennel was needed, there have been many times all three kennels were full of dogs.

By having all the kennels available to the dog-only shelter, it makes it easier to clean up after the animals. While one kennel is being cleaned, the animals must be moved to an unoccupied kennel, Buechler said.

Council discussed building a facility to store future surplus.

Councilmember Barney Berg estimated the structure would cost $1,200. The council is going to work with Dorris to see what kind of structure should be built to alleviate the issue.

Dorris said he would begin researching ways to dispose of the surplus and if some can be stored with the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

People are always welcome to see what kind of dogs are at the shelter, Buechler said.

The shelter houses eight Labrador mix puppies and six are ready to adopt. They are about six weeks old and need homes, she said. They are available for adoption for about one more week, then they are taken to the Moses Lake animal shelter.

"We're trying to make it a nice dog shelter," she said. "We take care of them."

The shelter is accepting donations of dog food, blankets, dog treats and leashes, she said.

For more information, contact Buechler at 509-246-0720.