After a four-year search, Wish Bone Canine Rescue has found its forever home.
Wish Bone is celebrating the opening of its new shelter with an open house and adoption event from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at 1824 W. Hovey Ave. in Normal.
Some adoptable dogs will be in attendance and The Healthy in a Hurry food truck will be available for lunch. Attendees also will have the opportunity to learn more about volunteering and how they can help homeless dogs.
Wish Bone purchased the 5,900-square-foot space from Kruger Animal Hospital last May.
In 2020, the nonprofit resided on Bunn Street, moving when the property owner had the building demolished. The agency continued operations in a strip mall on R.T. Dunn Drive in Bloomington, but space was limited and there was only room to hold five dogs.
Shelter director Bri Hart said the new shelter has around 30 kennels set up.
“It has been a dream come true. We’ve got a lot more space than we did before. We’ve got about an acre of land so the dogs are going to have a fenced in backyard of their own,” Hart said. “There’s just so much room here for all the dogs. We’ve been able to design the facility from scratch and do the layout the way we wanted.”
“We’re very excited for this next chapter. There’s so much room for growth.”
The new facility has a large intake area for medical care and a full pharmacy on-site.
Hart said Wish Bone’s goal is to always have its dogs in foster homes.
“It’s so much better for the dogs, getting them in a home with a family. It gives us the opportunity to get to know more about that dog and what their individual needs are,” she said.
Wish Bone currently has about 40 dogs in foster homes and six in the facility. The dogs that are in the facility are either in need of medical attention, or in search of a foster home.
Since its founding in 2009, Wish Bone Canine Rescue has completed more than 7,000 adoptions. More information about volunteer opportunities and adoption can be found on Wish Bone’s website.
“Two moves in a couple years is exhausting, but knowing we will never be in that situation again. We will never have to worry about where our dogs are going to stay. It’s very rewarding and it’s also so nice to see because we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the community,” Hart said.
