06/01/2026
🏗️ This is more than a new building. This is the future of animal sheltering in our community. 🐾
As many of you know, Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter has been working toward building a new shelter for a while now.
🐾 This is not just an idea anymore. We have an architect. We have a rendering. We have a real plan for what this shelter could be for the animals and for our community.
Our current shelter has helped us care for so many animals over the last 20 years, and we are thankful for what it has allowed us to do. But the truth is, it can no longer meet the needs of the animals, staff, or community the way it should.
🏚️ The building is worn down. The AC units have problems constantly. The cinder block is falling apart. It is difficult to clean, maintain, and sanitize the way it needs to be in order to keep animals healthy.
We do not have enough space for the volume of animals we care for. Crates sometimes have to be placed on the floor or stacked because we simply do not have the proper room. Hallways are too narrow. Storage is almost nonexistent, so supplies end up piled wherever we can make space. Our surgery area is too small for the medical work we do every day. We don't have meet and greet spaces for people to meet an adoptable pet.
It has served its purpose, and it has served a lot of animals. But it can no longer keep up. This new shelter is not just about having a nicer building.
✨ It is about having a front desk area where people can come in, talk with us, and feel welcomed. It is about having public bathrooms, which we do not currently have. It is about having meet-and-greet rooms where families can spend time with animals in a calmer space and make a good choice on whether that pet is the right fit for their home.
🔇 It is about soundproofing, better communication, and a building designed for the work we do every day.
🧼 It is about better ventilation, better sanitation, and better health for the animals.
🐶 Our dogs would have indoor/outdoor runs, giving them fresh air and outside time throughout the day. There would also be yards behind the dog adoption area where adopters can spend time with dogs, play with them, and really get to know them outside of a kennel.
🐱 Our cats would have larger, more comfortable rooms with outside access as well, giving them more space, enrichment, and a better quality of life while they wait for their forever homes.
The new shelter would also allow us to better separate sick animals from healthy animals, animals on stray hold from adoptable animals, and animals recovering from surgery from the general population. We would have proper drainage, proper surgery space, better recovery areas, and a much better flow overall.
It would also finally give our community a better place to come visit, adopt, volunteer, and support the shelter. Right now, our location makes that harder than it should be. Between the train delays, the rough road, and being tucked away where we are, we know coming to the shelter is not always easy or inviting.
This new shelter would change that. It would give us a place where people can actually come spend time, meet animals, attend events, volunteer, and be part of what we are doing.
Right now, we have about $800,000 raised toward this project. That is huge, and we are so thankful for every person who has helped get us this far. The City of Gainesville is giving us about 5 acres of land for the building. We have an architect. We have the rendering. We also have someone generously donating the dirt work.🙏
But to fully fund this project from start to finish and be able to open the doors, we will likely need between $2 and $2.5 million dollars.
That is why we still need our community behind us.
💙 If you can donate, please donate.
📣 If you can share, please share.
🤝 If you know a business, donor, grant opportunity, or organization that may want to be part of this project, please help connect us.
This shelter is for the animals. It is for the people who care for them. And it is for this community. We are ready to build it. 🐾
💛https://noahsarktx.com/donate/
