An interior design student hopes to make Fulton's soon-to-be-built new animal shelter a healthier, happier place.
Fulton native and Stephens College senior Amber Miller presented her senior capstone project - an interior design plan for the shelter - to the Fulton City Council at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Miller looked at functional and aesthetic design choices made at Midwest Veterinary Clinic in Fulton, the Jefferson City Animal Shelter and the Plano, Texas Animal Shelter, and ultimately came up with suggested changes to the city's original plan that would be better for both animals and their prospective adopters.
The main recommendations outlined in her plan are to add a separate drop-off area to the east end of the building, change the layout to include dog kennels that extend outdoors and can be closed off with a divider, and to increase the size of the "bonding room" to give room for families and larger animals to spend time together during the adoption process.
Miller said shelters such as Jefferson City's found success in separating the "happy" such as adoptions from the "dirty" such as relinquishments and legal drop-offs in animal shelters. The drop-off room kept seperate from the rest of the shelter would be beneficial for visitors to the "happy" side.