JEROME, Idaho — The Jerome Animal Shelter is a small facility — just 14 kennels and 2 employees — but it has maintained no-kill status for several years and continues to find homes for dogs in the community.
Elizabeth Hadley-Sievers recently adopted Blue, a Blue Tick Coon Hound, from the shelter less than a month ago.
"I will never buy a dog; I will adopt for the rest of my life," Hadley-Sievers said.
She invited me to meet Blue and shared what makes shelter dogs so special.
"They are the best dogs you'll ever get. They love you so much, they love life, they love everything about what you have done for them, and they will not ever forget what you did for them," Hadley-Sievers said.
A reader's suggestion following a recent Jerome news story prompted a closer look at the shelter, amid concerns that the facility may be too small to keep up with today's stray dog population.
Shelter technician Jordyn Evans said the facility has handled more animals than its size might suggest.
"I think [the] largest number that we've had in here has been 32 dogs, so we are technically a 14-kennel facility, but we do get more depending on the year," Evans said.
Evans said just 2 employees keep the dogs cared for and work to place them in new homes, move them to rescues, or transport them to other shelters. The shelter has maintained no-kill status for several years.
"No-kill means that we've reached 90% live outcomes throughout the year, so 90% of our dogs have gone to transport rescues, fosters, and I've been adopted are reunified with their owners," Evans said.
Thanks to Twin Falls Subaru, neighbors will be able to adopt a pet for free at the shelter in October. Evans said the shelter could always use more community support in the meantime.
"So if people are willing to donate food, toys, any donations to our medical fund to help us with these pups, get them the best medical care that they can," Evans said.
A potential expansion of the Jerome shelter has come up periodically. In an email, the City of Jerome said a discussion about a new shelter or an expansion has taken place periodically, but that it would take a large fundraising campaign in the community to get one built. Across the canyon in Twin Falls, a fundraising campaign for a shelter expansion went on for dozens of years.
Hadley-Sievers said she believes the Jerome shelter is doing meaningful work despite its size.
"I think they do great work. They love the animals. They love every animal that comes in," Hadley-Sievers said.
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