SUMMERDALE, Ala. – When people think of animal shelters, it oftentimes congers images of a depressing situation with animals in cages living under less than ideal conditions.

Loxley resident Darlene Boone wants to change that.

“I am just so super impressed with the staff at the Shelter,” Boone said. “I think it is sad simply because when people lose pets, they won’t come out here and look. I believe that a lot of these are pets that have owners looking for them, they’re just not thinking to look here.”

A longtime animal lover, Boone herself serves as a foster parent to many animals and began working closely with the shelter through her involvement with Shana Stradley and the Rivers of Love Animal Rescue, which was named after Stradley’s pet pit bull who was killed in her yard.

“I just think people don’t realize that these animals come from Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Foley, really all over Baldwin County,” Boone said. “I just want to encourage anyone who has lost their animal or is looking for an animal to adopt to come here. It’s worth it.”

Boone and Stradley work through online sites and Facebook to help animals find new owners, including hosting pet adoption events, such as one that will be held at the Kaiser Conference and Business Center in Orange Beach on Saturday, which will include a car wash and a dog wash. Another pet adoption event is planned at Tractor Supply in September and the group will host a Speed Doggy Dating event in Orange Beach in October which will match humans with their canine counterparts.

Boone said the biggest thing she wanted to stress to people is that they need to come to the Shelter to find their pets, not just call.

“They have a lot of employees here and the facility is so spread out that it’s important if you’re looking for an animal, you need to come in person to look for them,” she said. “Let’s face it, if you’re looking for a black lab, all black labs look alike.”

Through the Animal Rescue project, Boone said, she has worked closely with the Shelter, located on County Road 49 behind the Magnolia Landfill in Summerdale.

The Shelter recently opened a new 60-cage addition for dogs in July, said Charlotte Plumb, environmental supervisor with the Shelter, with an additional 28 cages in its older facility, which she hopes will begin renovations soon. The facility also houses 57 cat cages.

While oftentimes the cages hold just one animal, Shelter officials often work to pair compatible animals, Plumb said. Mama cats with kittens and mama dogs with puppies are also housed in the same cage, she said.

The Shelter also works with nine veterinary clinics throughout the county to house animals and many volunteers who serve as foster parents for animals.

“We are all the time looking for people to foster an animal,” Plumb said. “Fostering not only pairs the animal with a loving home that can take care of it until a suitable permanent home is found, it frees up space for us to be able to house more animals.”

Adopting a pet from the Shelter is easier that people might think. Cost for adoption is $60 for dogs, $50 for cats and includes spay and neutering fees, microchipping and general shots, plus a $10 certificate for one rabies shot from a local clinic. The shelter works with several area veterinarians, Plumb said, to provide low cost maintenance for the adopted animals.

“We are a government funded facility and do not screen,” Plumb said. “We work hard to match people with a proper pet and oftentimes we will take the animal back if things don’t work out.”

For Shelter patron Becky Kinder, the reason for adopting her new pet Cotton was simple, companionship.

“I currently have a Schnauzer and a Shi-Tzu, who are both around 11 years old,” she said. “Heaven forbid if something should happen to them, it’s nice to have a third, younger dog, so that the other will continue to have a companion.”

Companionship also extends between canine (or feline) and human, Kinder said.

“My husband died two years ago and I can’t think of a better companion,” she said. “It’s just the ultimate in unconditional love.”

Plumb said the facility includes 12 employees, including eight fulltime shelter employees and a varying number of volunteer community service workers.

The harsh reality is, Plumb said, many of the animals do not get adopted. For the month of July, 350 dogs and cats were euthanized by the shelter, most of those were wild animals that were brought in to the Shelter by Animal Control Officers, she said.

“We’ve had more cats euthanized over the last month than dogs,” she said .

Reasons for euthanizing animals vary, she said, considering the health and age of the animal. While it is typically not a problem for cats, dogs can also suffer what is known as “cage crazy” although, Plumb said, the condition is rare at the Shelter because the staff work hard to bring the animals out of the cages and have as much outside play time as possible.

Animals deemed adoptable by the Shelter can remain there or in foster care indefinitely, Plumb said, while stray or wild animals typically remain at the Shelter for seven days.

“We’ve had some animals here for years,” Plumb said. “While we certainly will not turn anyone away who wants to adopt them, they have become part of our family.”

There are currently 100 dogs and 44 cats at the Shelter, Plumb said.

Typically, larger dogs are harder to place in homes and people oftentimes will bring in or bring back dogs that were simply too large or too active to handle.

Anyone seeking information on adopting a pet can call the Shelter at 251-972-6834. Animals are also placed for adoption on petfinder.com. Shelter adoptions can be accessed by going to the website and keying in the Summerdale zip code, which is 36580.

More information about Rivers of Love Animal Rescue can be obtained by calling 251-752-9877. Animals are also posted on the organization’s Facebook page and on Boone’s Facebook page.