Plans for a new animal shelter in Fort Dodge have at least one resident worried that she'll have a bunch of noisy four-legged neighbors.
''What concerns me is the noise of the dogs, the barking,'' Shirley Zuspann, of 3138 Eighth Ave. S., said Thursday evening.
''Dogs barking are a nuisance,'' she added.
During a meeting about the construction of the proposed Almost Home Adoption and Education Center on South 32nd Street, she repeatedly stated her fear that the sound of dogs barking at the shelter would ruin the quality of life in her neighborhood.
Leaders of the Humane Society of North Central Iowa tried to ease her fears.
''There isn't one chance in 100 that's going to annoy people,'' said Larry Clement, a member of the society's board of directors. ''You're going to hear a lot more dogs barking from your neighborhood than you will out of here.''
Zuspann was one of about 15 people who attended a session about the proposed shelter, and she was the loudest critic of it. She said she would visit other animal shelters to see how they deal with the noise.
Two meetings on the shelter plans were scheduled for Thursday evening at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856, 518 S. 29th St., but the second one was canceled because no one showed up.
The proposed $1 million new animal shelter would replace the current one at 2415 1/2 Fifth Ave. S. It would be built on South 32nd Street, just south of the water tower.
Private contributions will pay for it. Society leaders are still trying to raise the needed money. To date they have secured a little more than $430,000 in cash and pledges.
If they're successful at raising the rest of the needed money, a contractor will be hired in July and work will begin soon after that. Laurie Hagey, the society's executive director, said she hopes the shelter will be occupied before winter begins.
The shelter would house 98 dogs and 146 cats. The current facility holds 40 dogs and 70 cats.
The dog kennels would be at the eastern end of the building, which is about 500 feet away from the nearest house, according to Hagey.
''We did that deliberately to put them as far away as possible both for them and the community,'' she said.
The building will have an area for training dogs. It will also have a large meeting room that society leaders said will be available for community events. A paved walking trail will circle the building.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
