It will be a Happy New Year indeed for shelter pets at Coastal Humane Society.  On Monday, December 30 and Tuesday, New Year’s Eve day, Hardypond Construction of Portland donated materials and labor to make many much needed improvements  to the Coastal Humane Society animal care facility, focused around the dog housing in the isolation unit.

Bob Gaudreau, owner of Hardypond, is the husband of a CHS Board member and is responsible for the donation.  

The labor for the $30,000+ project was donated by Hardypond Construction, who also donated some materials; other supplies were donated by Hancock Lumber, Garand Enterprises, Overhead Door of Maine, Residential Sprinkler Services, Tecta Roofing of America, Airtemp Comfort Systems, Fieldstone Welding, and Keeley Electrical.

Among the repairs are improvements to the insulation in the dog isolation unit, which has previously been heated with costly space heaters in the drafty space. Repairs were made to dog kennels as well. Other attention was directed to expanding shelter storage, fixing leaking roofs, improving roof insulation, and other renovations to improve fire safety. Also to be improved: the outdoor dog yards, with paneling put in place between pens.

During the time of repairs, dogs were temporarily be moved to another wing of the shelter.

“Thanks to this generous gift, our dogs will be more comfortable at CHS until they find their way into their forever home,” said Karen Stimpson, Executive Director. “We’ll have a more efficient facility which will save us money in the longer run – and hold us over until we move our adoptable animals up to our 190 Pleasant Street Adoption Facility when it’s complete.”

The organization is planning a multi-year campaign to build an Animal Adoption and Community Center on Pleasant Street in Brunswick. It is a $3.4 million project, now in the first of four phases.