HOULTON, Maine — It has been nearly four years in the making, but The Ark Animal Sanctuary finally has a home to call its own.
“In the last three years, we have been able to make this place a true sanctuary,” said Loraine Monfils, director of the Ark. “Things have come together really nice. There was a lot of volunteers and a lot of support for our us over the years.”
Located at 102 Old Woodstock Road, the Ark Animal Sanctuary will soon move most of its felines to the property, while their dogs will remain in foster homes. An open house was held Saturday, to show visitors all of the work that has been done at the site.
The group was originally searching for an old farmhouse to become its home, but when a 40-acre parcel of land on Old Woodstock Road was offered, steps were put into motion to acquire the property. That acquisition took place in April 2010 and plans were soon put into action to obtain a building to be placed on the land.
Ruth and Sonny Golding of Smyrna Mills donated a small house to the Ark after reading a newspaper article that the group was in need of a building. The Goldings were planning to demolish the building as they had built a new home.
“They came out and looked at it and decided they wanted it,” Ruth said. “It was good for us and good for the animals.”
Loraine’s husband Bob took the building apart to relocate it from Smyrna Mills to Houlton with the help of Crawford Homes. Bob also did most of the carpentry work inside the building.
The facility can house about 60 cats. All new cages were purchased, and there will be areas for cats to roam free. A room for “special needs” cats, complete with a bunk bed is also available and there is also a community loft area where some cats will be able to lounge freely. In addition, there is a living room area and kitchen, equipped with appliances that were all donated to the Ark.
Edward C. Boyce left the Ark a sum of money when he passed away, which allowed the group to build an addition to the home to create an isolation area for contagious animals.
The building is heated via a pellet stove, which was donated to the group. The Ark is accepting donations of wood pellets to help them heat the building this winter. On Saturday, a couple, who were celebrating their wedding anniversary, donated a ton of pellets to the group in lieu of buying presents for each other.
Because they have such a large parcel of land, the Ark’s vision for the future will include areas for farm animals and a dog park, where owners can bring their pets and allow them to run without a leash. They would also like to create a walking trail around the property.
The creation of a sanctuary is just the first phase for the Ark.
“We really want this to become a community-oriented place,” Monfils said. “We’d also like to have some cabins put up down by the brook for Boy and Girl Scouts to come the weekend and learn about responsible pet ownership. We have a vision, but it will take some time to get there.”
The sanctuary will be open by appointment only to start. Monfils said she is hoping to build the group’s volunteer base, so that it can be open on a more regular basis.
“We’re really looking for people to volunteer a four-hour shift, so we could be open every day,” she said. “We have no paid employees, so we rely heavily on our volunteers. We have enough for three, four-hour days, already, but we would love to have more.”
The roots for forming the Ark Animal Sanctuary began back in 2004 when Monfils and her husband Bob moved back to Houlton. She opened a pet grooming business – Hollywood Pet Salon – on Main Street and volunteered for a time with the Houlton Humane Society. But a desire to create a bigger, more open environment for pets in need soon began to grow for Monfils and the wheels for the Ark Animal Sanctuary were set in motion.
The mission of the Ark Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit organization, is to rescue and provide food, shelter, medical assistance, love and compassion to any animal in need, regardless of age and medical condition.
According to the group’s website, “We will take full responsibility of every animal placed with us until they find loving homes. The Ark is a no-kill organization. Euthanasia will only be considered when a veterinarian recommends it for the best interest of the animal. We believe every animal’s life is meaningful and they all deserve loving homes.”
