County Construction and Maintenance Director Jimmy Jones, who built the new climate- controlled dog kennel, explains its features to Bob Echols who donated $290,000 to build the facility.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Levy County Animal Services unveiled its new climate-controlled dog shelter Wednesday and honored the man who made it possible, philanthropist and animal lover Bob Echols.

            Echols, founder of For Our Friends the Animals, donated $290,000 for construction of the 50-bed dog shelter at the Levy County Landfill, a facility owned and operated by the Levy County Commission.

            He was presented a plaque by Board Chairman Matt Brooks honoring Echols’ donation. Brooks also applauded Jimmy Jones, county maintenance and construction director, for building a state-of-the-art dog shelter.

            Echols said the name of his organization, For Our Friends the Animals, comes from a prayer attributed to Dr. Albert Schweitzer, “a great humanitarian, great lover of animals and lover of life.”

            “I was drawn to Dr. Schweitzer because of his philosophy of a reverence for life. He believes all life is sacred, all life is precious, all life should be valued and no life should be a means to an end for anybody else,” Echols said. “We should treat all life as we are treated and I got that philosophy, as I’m sure you can guess, from the love of Jesus portrayed in the Sermon on the Mount. A reverence for life, according to Dr. Schweitzer, is simply to love Jesus made universal and applied to all of God’s creatures.”

            Echols said he was proud that the new dog kennel is a manifestation of a reverence for life.

            “Not only are the dogs who reside here going to get the best treatment and care that we can provide them, but by being here they’re going to have a much better opportunity to be adopted out and find loving parents and a loving home and once they find those loving owners they will give that love back tenfold. That’s what dogs are all about, that’s what a reverence for life is all about. I thank Levy County for giving me this opportunity to be of service and to bring a reverence for life to all of you.”

            Heather Thomas, executive director of the Humane Society of North Central Florida based in Alachua County, said the new facility was a fabulous addition to Levy County Animal Services.

            “We think it is fabulous what has been done out here for Levy County and Animal Services. We work closely with David (Weatherford – animal services director) out here and we know they are doing great work trying to save as many lives as they can and we’re trying to support them in the best ways we can by pulling animals into our shelter,” Thomas said.

            Weatherford said the new shelter has features that will keep the animals in a safe and climate-controlled building. He said the shelter is designed to allow adopters to look at the animals and play with them in fenced play areas. He said each of the individual living areas in the facility has an automatic watering system and guillotine doors that give the dog access to an outside dog run of their own.

            “I’m hoping it will bring more out of the community to come adopt and to see the facility. We now have a climate-controlled kennel, play yards. We added two more play yards,” Weatherford said. “I invite everyone and anybody to come and adopt and see the facility.”

            Weatherford was asked whether any consideration was being given to opening Animal Services on Saturday to allow for more adoptions or if he was opposed to that idea.

            “I’m not necessarily opposed. I will say we have been looking into that,” he said.

            County Commissioner Lilly Rooks, who oversees Animal Services, said opening Animal Services on Saturday is under consideration.

            “We’re looking at all the aspects of it, budget and times,” she said. “This facility will make a big difference. Here they’ll be able to drive by or come in.”

            Rooks said when Jones first began site preparation for the facility she watched lime rock being applied to the area where the foundation would rest. She had a picture in her mind of what it would look like.

            “In my mind I had what I thought would happen. This is much better. In the summer this will have air conditioning. In the winter it will have heat. It will be safer for the animals and employees. I’m so happy. I could only dream about it. It all came together.”

            She complimented Echols for his donation of money that made the new shelter possible and Jones for employing his vast knowledge of construction to build a high quality facility that is unsurpassed in the tri-county area.

            Echols was given the honor of introducing a friendly bulldog to the new kennel. It was the first dog to see the shelter. The friendly dog seemed to like people more than she did the shelter. She examined a couple of living areas inside the shelter, sniffing everything as Echols held her leash, and then walked out to schmooze with humans gathered for the event.

            Echols attributed her lack of interest in the shelter to the fact that she probably wanted to go back to see her buddies. The new shelter is ready for occupancy.

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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt June 17, 2020; Posted June 17, 2020