Humane Society still needs help to finish remodel of inherited home

Back in September, ABC-7 brought you word that the Humane Society inherited a home and vehicle from a veteran.

Joseph Janek left the house to the non-profit in his will, asking them to sell it and use the money for the animals.

The Humane Society set a goal back in September to completely remodel the home by January, but after a few delays, the group is behind schedule.

Since they received the home, soldiers have come in and removed the carpet as well as cleaned up the entire lot.

In addition, volunteers with the Border Patrol have painted some rooms and taped off others.

Lowes and Mimbella have donated supplies to the house, such as paint. Another donation of a fridge and oven range were made as well.

Although those donations seem like a lot, spokeswoman Kandolite Flores said a lot more must be done.

“We had been given some promises from other companies with donations, so we were expecting tile and a lot of other things,” Flores said. “We understand things happen, but we were relying on those donations so that we could get it going and we did expect to finish on time.”

With those delays, she said the Humane Society has developed a new game plan.

“As you can see the condition it’s in now, it’s ready for repairs to be done, but we just don’t have the proper people in place to actually do that,” Flores said.

They’ve decided to reach out to local businesses that specialize in interior design or remodeling.

Instead of asking for one group to remodel the entire home, Flores said she hopes different groups will sponsor different rooms.

“We’re not asking for anything crazy,” she said.

She hopes businesses will be willing to remodel rooms like the kitchen or bathrooms, and showcase a new design or try a new look.

As a token of appreciation, the Humane Society would hold an open house to show off the different design teams.

“We’ll be more than happy to put up their business and let people know who are buying the home or whomever we show it to that this room was sponsored by ‘so-and-so’ business,” Flores said.

According to her, if they cannot find design teams, they still plan to sell the home in the next couple months.

Flores said as is, the home will likely sell for between $60,000 and $70,000.

If renovated, the house might sell for closer to $120,000, according to their Realtor.

Flores said running the Humane Society takes a lot of money.

Last year the Humane Society handled 3,817 adoptions, and each animal costs around $19 a day to house, Flores said.

“This would be a huge push for us, especially for the year of 2013.”