Local animal shelter’s $180,000 renovations to be showcased on Animal Planet September 17th

An Ashland pet shelter that won $180,000 in funding from Animal Planet back in May will soon show off the results of their cash infusion to a national television audience.

BARK (Bandit’s Adoption and Rescue of K-9s), an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to rescue abused and abandoned dogs in the Richmond area, provide veterinary care, and place each in loving homes, received the donation following a nationwide contest.

The shelter will be featured in a two-part special on Animal Planet entitled “Pet Nation Renovation,” in which two deserving shelters receive much needed top-to-bottom makeovers providing animals with a more comfortable stay while awaiting their new family. Part one of the show premieres on Saturday, September 17th at 10:00 PM on the network.

In the premiere episode, the all-volunteer staff at BARK learn they are the winners of a nationwide contest to find the most deserving shelter. After rescuing more than 4,500 dogs in a decade’s time, the BARK shelter showed extreme wear and tear. “These run-down conditions cause[d] unnecessary stress to the dogs and scare[d] off potential adopters forcing BARK to holds adoption events offsite,” BARK volunteer Claire Tetrick said.

As part of the renovations, BARK was outfitted with state-of-the-art kennels, an agility dog park, and cost-saving improvements which culminated in an on-site adoption event to find the dogs forever homes. Celebrity dog groomer Jorge Bendersky and animal adoption expert Jill Rappaport were on hand to make sure the dogs looked their best for adoption.