Animal shelter finds a new home at Lykins Creek

A News-Express Staff Report

The Pike County Humane Society, after years of searching, has found a home for a new animal shelter near its current location.

In a statement released Monday, the organization said it had closed a deal on Friday for a 4.4 acre piece of property at Lykins Creek, near Walters Toyota and Pikeville Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The property was sold to the humane society by the Heirs of Hazel Allen for $152,000. The heirs also donated $32,000 of the purchase price, the statement said.

“We are very excited about this location because it gives us the acreage that we need to build an all-indoor shelter of which all Pike Countians can be proud,” Beverly Newman, a member of the Humane Society, said in the statement.

The property is an ideal location, according to Humane Society Board member David Stratton.

“Now that we have the property, we look forward to moving forward with our building plans,” Stratton said. “However, because we have had to spend our money to purchase the property, our next step will be to raise additional funds to build the shelter.

In 2003, the agency had attempted to get the property at Bob Amos Park occupied by the YMCA’s skate park, but were ultimately refused. They had also examined the possibility of building the facility on state-owned property located on U.S. 119 past Burning Fork. However, that land proved to unsuitable for building.

The most recently identified site — at Marions Branch — was found to be unavailable.

According to statistics from the humane society that were presented to the Pike Fiscal Court last year during discussions over staffing, the animal shelter has euthanized more than 75 percent of all animals that have been brought in over the past three years.

Officials with the Humane Society have said they can save many more animals with the new facility.

The current facility is located at the end of Thompson Road.