RICHMOND – Sales from Bark Bargains, a thrift store, and donations help Autumn Acres Animal Rescue expand to better serve dogs, owner Jenifer Dickson said.

Since 2004, the nokill facility has rescued and rehabilitated at-risk animals, but lacked the desired recreational space, Dickson said.

Expansion will cost $8,500 – a large sum for everyday people, but the community is pitching in, she said.

“We were saving up for an epoxy coating to put down on the big dog playroom floors and a donor reached out and said that it was the three-year anniversary of her dog adoption and she wanted to cover the cost of the epoxy for us,” Dickson said.

Putting epoxy on the floor cost $3,000. The gift provided a huge boost, and the shelter had been saving for additional work, so Dickson said she stepped out on faith that getting everything done would be possible.

“We’re going to have faith and we’re going to see, and it’s going to come together,” she said. “We’re just going to go for it.”

Assisting to reduce the expansion costs are Richmond volunteers Gina Harmon, Melissa Stockton and Chris McFall.

Autumn Acres also takes donations and raises funds through Bark Bargains Thrift Shop, 112 S. College St., Richmond. Bark Bargains exists to support the animal rescue facility.

“That’s why we’re able to (afford) to do this now,” Dickson said. “I know we’re going to have the income from that. I know we’re going to be able to pull this together now, whereas before, I never had that belief.”

“When we initially remodeled the garage, our goal was always to have the small dog room and the big dog room to be playrooms, but we couldn’t afford to finish the whole garage, so it wound up being a small dog room with kennels and a big dog room with kennels,” Dickson said. “Now, we’re finishing the rest of the garage with indoor-outdoor runs, so that we will actually have a big dog playroom and the dogs will have indoor-outdoor space.”

Expansion is important for the animals, she said.

“At Autumn Acres, we believe that every individual life matters,” Dickson said. “When we take in an animal, our goal is to make sure it’s happy for as long as we have it.”

Autumn Acres takes in animals many people might reject.

“Most of our animals are special needs dogs that have behavior issues, so those dogs are going to be here for years,” Dickson said. “We do our best. We give all our dogs playtime.”

Expansion will increase the opportunities for play.

“We’re out there for hours each day. But it’s not ideal. They’re still locked inside of a building. They don’t get to see outside all day long. So, with the new facility, the new indoor-outdoor runs, they’ll be able to lay outside if they want to,” Dickson said. “If they want to get out of the sun, they can come back inside, where it’s air conditioned. They can go outside whenever they feel the need, instead of having to wait for us to let them out. So it’s going to be much better for them – mentally healthy.”

Expansion also allows for better training conditions.

“When we want to act one on one with a dog, we can do it in the big dog playroom. Right now, if you want to interact with a dog in the big dog playroom and you take it out, then there are six other dogs going, ‘Why is it out and not me?’ They’re all right there, watching you,” Dickson said. “When we get this new room done, they won’t see that. You’ll be able to sit there and interact and teach that dog how to sit, lay down, work with it one on one without the other dogs being jealous and barking at you and being upset that they’re not out. It’s definitely something needed, something we’ve always wanted to do. We just couldn’t do it.”

TO LEARN MORE

To learn more, go to facebook.com/ AutumnAcres.

To donate, send a message on the Facebook page.