Critter champion: New Grant County Animal Outreach chief accepts challenge to make things better

MOSES LAKE — Darrin Hein said there’s been a learning curve in his new job at Grant County Animal Outreach.

Hein was hired as the new GCAO administrator in late November. It’s a new position for GCAO; previously the administrator was also the shelter manager. Hein said GCAO is looking for a new shelter manager.

Hein said he worked as a mortgage broker, owned his own restaurant and later his own bookkeeping business, and was in sales before coming to GCAO. He had never worked with animals, or at an animal shelter, he said.

“Most of those positions were me being self-employed, so I had management history,” he said.

“They (GCAO) always had people that had more of the animal (experience). They always had people like that,” he said. “But then those people were also having to deal with the business side, the fundraising, and it’s a lot. So they decided to separate the two positions.”

He said his previous experience was good preparation for his new job.

“When I was in mortgages, I know I helped a lot of people get into homes and refinance their homes. That was a service to my clients,” he said. “When I owned the restaurant, I fed a lot of good food to people, which I also took a lot of pride in. What attracted me to this opportunity was that this was a way to help the entire community of Grant County.”

“I thought this was a huge opportunity and a large challenge to make things better,” Hein added.

He was and is a pet owner, he said, and had adopted dogs from the shelter. But when his own animals got sick he took them to the veterinarian. It’s different when he’s helping run the shelter.

“I’ve learned a lot, definitely,” he said.

He has learned about symptoms and treatment of animal diseases, he said, as well as the behavior of the animals. Hein used Percy, the dog living in the shelter office most of the time, as an example.

Percy was left outside in a crate during a storm, and was so frightened he almost chewed through the crate. One of the aftereffects is that Percy doesn’t like being around other dogs, and lives in the office most of the time. The staff has worked with Percy, and he has improved to the point where he will sleep overnight – alone – in another room.

“Normally strays that come in are cats,” he said. “When it comes to dogs, those are normally owner surrenders.”

The current GCAO shelter was built as part of Larson Air Force Base in the 1940s or 1950s. Even though it’s been expanded over time, there are only so many dogs and cats it can accommodate.

“We can safely hold 39 dogs, and as far as cats, I would say about 36 cats safely,” Hein said.

For the shelter, “safely” means a limited number of dogs sharing a kennel, or in the case of cats, sharing a cage.

“When cats come in, they’re normally strays, and there’s a much greater chance to have some sort of communicable disease,” Hein said. “We have to be very cautious when we take strays in, because the last thing we want to do is not have the space to properly isolate animals when they first come in.”

The shelter has agreements with Grant County and the city of Moses Lake to house animals picked up from those jurisdictions.

“We always have to have room for them,” Hein said.

That cuts down on the space available for other animals, and with a limited amount of room, GCAO has a waiting list. When space does become available, people on the waiting list are contacted to determine if they still have the dog or cat, and if they still want to bring it to the shelter.

“We are a no-kill shelter. That wasn’t always the case here,” he said. “We do not euthanize on site. We do not have animals put down to make room. That just goes against everything I believe in, and everything our staff and our board members believe in.”

Animals are euthanized only when a veterinarian recommends it for animals that are too sick or injured to be treated successfully.

“The only other time is when we have dogs that are in bite hold and they’re awaiting the verdict of the courts. And that’s mandated by the authorities,” he said.

The GCAO’s board is starting to raise money for a new building, due to the age and size of the existing facility.

“It’s kind of a hodgepodge,” Hein said of the existing building. “It’s just not big enough for what we need.”

A new building will provide more room to house more animals.

“In a perfect world, with a new building, we would like to have a vet on staff,” Hein said.

Part of his job, he said, will be going out into the communities and helping raise money for a new building, as well as applying for grants.

“We have money saved up right now for the building, but it’s not nearly enough,” he said. “It’s a good start, but a new building is going to run hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Along with local fundraising efforts, the GCAO board wants to apply for loans, he said.

The shelter has benefited from the support of people throughout the community, he said.

“We have a lot of great people that donate their money, supplies, or even their time by volunteering,” Hein said. “And that’s a huge help.”

Hein said he wants to start a group for volunteers, and make it easier for people to donate to the shelter.

“What I’m working on is a sustaining membership, kind of a ‘Friends of Grant County Animal Outreach,’” he said.

“Animal lovers are extremely passionate,” he said. “I’m happily surprised at how much this community already does.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.