Purr-fect expansion schedule at Nate's

Rob Oglesby, the development director for Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue, stood at the front of the rescue’s property on an empty dirt lot and looked toward the back of the property.

“You’ll be able to see the fountain in the lake from here,” he said, pointing down the pathway that leads to the 2-acre lake at the end of the property. “It’s so serene and quiet. It’s relaxing even with the construction going on.” 

A front loader made its way across the 8-acre property from the lake to the beginning of the empty dirt lot and deposited a mound of dirt before returning to the lake.

Construction workers were hammering away on the new 4,355-square-foot intake building.

Although Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue has had to make adjustments to the animal adoption process and doesn’t have volunteers as a result of the pandemic, Oglesby said that’s been a positive when it comes to construction on site because there aren’t as many people around.

Oglesby said the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted construction. The project is on schedule for a September 2021 completion, with the intake building set to be finished at the end of March 2021.

The rescue is about $2.5 million away from reaching its $10 million fundraising goal.

Construction of the new 3,974-square-foot training facility, which will be open to the community, is expected to start in February.

“We’re trying to offer more ways of helping the public, so that animals stay in their homes,” Oglesby said.

The campus could be heaven for dogs and cats waiting to find their forever homes.

Volunteers will be able to take dogs for walks on the quarter-mile walking trail around the lake, which should be done by the end of December, while cats play outside in their “catios,” or cat patios.

When construction is complete, Nate’s will have 17 cottages that house six animals each, an increase from the current eight on campus. Oglesby said the rescue should be able to house 120 dogs on-site. 

Dogs can also dive into and swim around the new bone-shaped pool that will be installed on the site.

Nate’s will not only be a place for animals to indulge before they’re adopted but also a place for the community to enjoy.

“We’ve always wanted to help the community as much as we can, but we’ve never had the facilities to do so,” Oglesby said.

The old, 300-square-foot welcome center has already been razed in preparation to be replaced by a new 23,000-square-foot welcome and adoption center. 

The center will house a veterinary clinic, parvo and maternity wards for animals, an education center, a community center and more. Work on the center will begin in January.

After the entire campus is complete, Oglesby said the rescue will be able to double its number of adoptions.

“On a normal Saturday before COVID-19, we would post pictures of animals on the website, and there’d be a line from all the way out of the welcome center into the parking lot of people waiting to adopt,” Oglesby said. “When you see a family find their new family member and that smile on their face when they’re walking out of here, it just keeps you going. It’s a great experience. We’ve lost that a bit for this year because everyone has a mask on, so you can’t see if they’re smiling. It’ll just be good to get back to normal hopefully in 2021.”