HAYDEN — Rusted doors.

Cracks in floors.

And not one inch of extra space.

"Things are just falling apart every day," Kootenai Humane Society executive director Debbie Jeffrey said Monday.

The nonprofit, no-kill shelter has been at 11650 N. Ramsey Road in Hayden for 41 years, and the building's age has long been showing.

Staff and volunteers work in tight, cramped areas and every available storage space has been filled. The electrical components and plumbing are outdated. Feral cats are kept in carriers in a wooden structure outside because that's the only place they can go. Dogs have to be moved to outdoor kennels when the inside kennels are being cleaned, even if it's freezing outside.

“Spring, summer, winter, fall, right there is where they have to go," KHS Board Chair Cindy Edington said, gesturing to chain-link kennels covered by wrinkled tarps.

The building itself has been modified through the years to keep up with the demand for KHS' services, and those quick fixes are also apparent.

"This thing is a LEGO house, where you’ve added on and added on and added on,” Rick Rasmussen, who is leading the capital campaign for the new shelter, told The Press in late October. "We’re at our capacity here.”

In spring 2019, KHS announced a $6.5 million endeavor to purchase land and build a 24,000-square-foot shelter on 10 acres on the west side of Atlas Road north of Hayden Avenue in Hayden. Ground was broken on the site in October 2019.

"It’s all about the efficiency and the cost savings of the new building," Edington said. "While we’re going bigger, the cost to operate this building in the condition that it’s in, it’s high. You can’t even get the internet here because you can’t get through cinder block walls.”

The capital campaign for the new facility is close to 72% complete at nearly $4.7 million committed.

But much is left to be done. When just less than $1 million more is collected, construction can begin.

"If we could get that money by Thanksgiving, then we could go and do what we can, get all the permits, get everybody lined up, start the excavation,” Rasmussen said. "As the ground starts thawing in the spring, we could get going."

The coronavirus pandemic has been a thorn in the paw of the fundraising efforts, halting live events and making it difficult for people to come together for a good cause.

"COVID basically squashed all of our momentum,” Rasmussen said. "We haven’t been able to get out and meet with people, so we need people to reach out to us."

Rasmussen and team are stepping up fundraising efforts because not only is KHS out of space — it's running out of time. The land the shelter is on is leased from the Coeur d'Alene Airport, which Rasmussen expects will eventually call on KHS to move off the property to make way for more hangars.

"Eventually, for-profit is going to out-rule not-for-profit," Rasmussen said. "Somebody’s going to want to build a bunch of hangars and we’ll be right in their way.

“They’re going to come knocking on the door, and then what are we going to do?”

“They’ve been fabulous,” Edington said of the airport. “The neighbors out here take care of us, but if you’ve ever been our here when jets are landing, it’s kind of interesting.”

Rasmussen said one thing that really worries him about the old building is the HVAC system.

"We’re spending a lot of money to do it right, so if there’s a sickness in one area you can isolate that and you’re not carrying it through the whole facility," he said. “We’re not going to skimp on the things we need to do right, like a good operating area, a good ventilation system.”

With the influx of people moving to Kootenai County, "we’re just seeing more and more people needing our services," Jeffrey said.

"Our dog spays are out to the middle of January already," she said. "The need is there.

"It’s a need," she emphasized. "It’s not a dream anymore. It’s a need."

Email Rasmussen at [email protected] or Edington at [email protected] to help KHS build its new home.

Info: www.kootenaihumane.org/khs-capital-campaign