June 12, 2008

Pet Pulse Photo by John Parker

ALBURQUERQUE, N.M. -- More and more shelters across the country are helping animals and trying to save the environment. One such shelter in Albuquerque is giving recycling a whole new meaning.

Sometimes doing the right thing is not easy. It often takes quite a bit of effort -- and in this case -- quite a bit of sweat. But it is how to build green on a budget.

Watermelon Mountain Ranch took a hard look at the shelter’s possible impact on the desert environment, and an even harder look at its bank account -- leaving facilities manager Rick Dillender to act as a one man construction crew at times.

“It’s very simple. There’s nothing complicated about it -- it’s just a lot of hard work” Dillender told Pet Pulse.

The ranch is New Mexico’s largest no-kill shelter with 4,000 animals passing through each year. The ranch has an almost 100 percent adoption rate.

But as with so many non-profits, every penny has to go a long way, so the decision was made to use simple green construction methods -- like concrete floors with radient heating and walls made with straw bales.

“We went very, very low tech with the renovations -- very inexpensive, and for a non-profit, that’s the best way for us to go.” Dillender said.

In addition to protecting the environment, building green for the shelter’s planned expansion is expected to save quite a bit of another kind of green.

“We know what it costs to put up a canine cottage using traditional construction techniques -- that’s a $3,000 structure,” Dillender said. “Going green, we’re able to cut those costs by more than half.”

Watermelon Mountain Ranch is taking building green even further. Lumber and bricks rescued from the nearby landfill were used to build a home for three not-so-little potbellied pigs: Thelma, Louise and Louie.

They are just as happy with their recycled home as they would be with a brand new one.

“People threw away $800 to $900 worth of lumber,” Dillender said. “I pulled it out, took out the nails and reused it, because I don’t have the $900 to go buy the lumber myself.”

Recycling the lumber allowed Dillender to take the same amount of money and make much more facilities out of it. For the animals at the ranch, it’s not what their home is made of that matters -- it’s the fact that they have a place to call home.
Watermelon Mountain Ranch also plans to use the shelter’s waste water for a garden and they’re intending to install a solar oven to turn solid waste into fertilizer.

For more on the ranch, visit watermelonmountainranch.org.

Tell us what you think about “Eco-friendly Shelter Saves Environment, Money” below, and be sure to watch this video at the top right of your page. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.