State-of-the-Art Shelter is Changing Pets' Lives

Orange County Animal Services in North Carolina is easy on the eyes, environment, and pets

When Caroline Rechholtz visited the Orange County Animal Services facility in Chapel Hill, N.C., to help her daughter choose a dog, she was unsure. After all, most shelters are noisy, uncomfortable places. Instead, what she and her daughter found was a surprise. “It’s a very impressive facility,” Rechholtz says. “The people are extremely professional, helpful, and polite.”

Rechholtz spotted a 3-month-old West Highland White Terrier—a purebred someone had surrendered. The little terrier, Mackenzie, found a new home, and the Rechholtzes became instant fans of the shelter. “The animals are so well cared for, and they’re all ready to go to somebody’s home,” Rechholtz says.

All-around friendly
Opened in the summer of 2009, the facility is the gem of central North Carolina animal shelters. Director Robert Marotto had a vision for the environment he wanted to create for pets, staff, and visitors. “We really value animal welfare,” he says. “We’re committed to it. We wanted to have a vital animal services department and that required a wonderful environment to support it.”

Together with Colorado-based architects Animal Arts and North Carolina architect Weinstein Friedlein, Marotto worked to design a facility that defied standard concepts of animal shelters. Shelters often assault the senses with their artificial lighting, noise, and strong smell of animals. Walking into the Orange County North Carolina facility is a complete shift from this.

Natural lighting pours in from dozens of windows not only in the adoption areas but also in behind-the-scenes intake and holding areas that are vital to handling frightened animals. Multiple sections decrease noise levels, as does creative use of spaces like dog runs that are staggered so dogs don’t face one another and become aggressive. Each area of the facility is equipped with a separate airflow system, minimizing odors. When visitors approach and enter the facility, adoptable cats and dogs are eagerly watching through multiple windows from their “real life rooms” that mimic a home environment.

Feline good
Shelter life can be rough on cats, so these measures are especially helpful to them. “One of the things that is a risk to cats is respiratory infections that can quickly pass from cat to cat,” Marotto says. The architects made the Orange County North Carolina facility’s environment as healthy as possible. The separate airflow systems rotate the air throughout each section of the facility many times an hour and minimize the spread of airborne disease among the cats—and dogs. The individual cat condos take it a step further. Each condo has its own air vent, creating a constant circulation of fresh air for each cat.

The cat condo design also reduces the cats’ psychological stress. Each cat enjoys a two-room suite that includes a living area and a room for the litter box. There’s a ledge, too, for the cat to leap up for a better view out the glass windows. As in the other areas of the facility, natural light streams in and the cats regale in their outdoor view.

Cats sleep draped over climbing towers, their paws dangling over the edge, twitching as they dream. In the cat colonies, where small groups of cats are housed together, they lounge on giant large pet beds or snuggle together in carpeted hideaways.

Doggone comfortable
The dog adoption area boasts equally impressive design. It shuns traditional fenced runs for suites with solid interior walls and a glass front. Dogs can see outside through large windows, and more light shines in from windows above. Each dog reaps the benefits of a cot that lifts them off the ground and separate spaces for living and eliminating. They all revel in playtime and outdoor walks, and the facility has a thriving volunteer program to help care for dogs and cats alike.

While Orange County Animal Services in North Carolina takes great pains to maintain the physical and psychological health of its canine and feline guests, it’s equally welcoming to human visitors. The large community room at the front of the building provides space for groups, and individual meet-and-greet rooms allow prospective adopters to hang out with their future pets in a one-on-one setting. “We wanted to create a facility that was welcoming to the entire community,” Marotto says. “It’s clean, calm, green…and we’re hoping it brings together a lot of people and their new companions.”