For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Area Pet Shelter (MAPS) is moving into its new facility at 3500 Downwind Drive, in Marshfield.

“Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a small group of staff members and volunteers will transport the remaining supplies and shelter cats and dogs to the new building this week,” a MAPS release said.

“We are really excited to move into our new space,” said MAPS Executive Director Karen Rau. “This is an historic moment for our community, and we are so grateful to everyone who has made this possible.”

MAPS was founded by a small group of volunteers in September 2011, to offer a humane outcome for Marshfield area animals. The organization began as a foster care network, with volunteers caring for animals in their homes. In 2013, the shelter renovated a space in Marshfield Mall to serve as an Adoption Center. In 2015, volunteers renovated the former Marshfield Municipal Airport Terminal to serve as a temporary shelter.

Through funds from the J.P. Adler family, the city of Marshfield, Paul and Joann Schreiner and many other contributors, enough money was raised and the organization broke ground on their new shelter in the summer of 2019.

“It’s been a long journey, but the future is bright for local animals and the humans who care for them,” said Rau. “We look forward to utilizing this facility to not only care for animals, but also to having a space that we can serve the community through educational workshops and other opportunities.”

The new shelter is approximately 9,000 square feet, which includes intake and medical rooms, indoor/outdoor accessible dog kennels, quarantine rooms, cat patios, and a free roaming cat area named in honor of Brittany Zimmermann.

“Due to the current pandemic, there are currently no open hours available at the new building. Visits and adoptions are open by appointment only. A ribbon cutting and open house will take place at a later date,” the release stated.

For more information on the shelter, visit www.MarshfieldPetShelter.Org. For contribution opportunities, visit http://www.marshfieldpetshelter.org/our-new-facility.