BAY MINETTE, Ala. — On a cold day in November of 2006, local attorney Red Wilkins was walking his Jack Russell terrier, Suzi, when he saw something that would forever change his life and would inspire an entire county.

“I saw a little stray dog that someone had dumped off. Its collar had grown into its neck,” Wilkins said. He said he went home, but couldn’t get the thought of that stray dog off his mind.

“The next day I went looking for it and found out it had been picked up and had been euthanized,” he said. At that moment, Wilkins decided if he could help it, no animal would be euthanized simply because it lacked a home and proper care.

“God put those animals here. We don’t want to be put down if there’s nothing wrong with us, but there are people who think, ‘it’s just a dog.’ They don’t deserve to lose their lives just as people don’t,” he said.

“That was the idea for the shelter,” he said. The shelter Wilkins refers to is the Baldwin County Animal Shelter, the first no-kill shelter in Baldwin County.

“We’ll house the animals as long as it takes to have them adopted. There will be no euthanizations. We do not have a euthanization facility within the shelter,” he said. “We are here to assist the community in caring for our homeless and abused animals.”

According to the American Humane Society, an estimated 3.7 million animals were euthanized in the United States in 2008.

Many may wonder what the shelter will do about animals like the small stray that inspired Wilkins, those that are sick and injured.

“Those that are sick, we’ll try to nurse them back to health. Ones that can’t be restored to health, we’ll send them to the county shelter at the Magnolia Landfill,” he said.

“Wilkins and wife Judy teamed up with his law partner, Bayless Biles, and good friend Tom Mitchell to get the project started. What happened next surprised even a southern gentleman like Wilkins.

“We formed a non-profit corporation and myself, Tom Mitchell and Bayless Biles, my law partner, bought two acres of property on the Bay Minette bypass (Alabama Highway 59) for $85,000. Tom McMillan and Agnes Easley gave us three acres. We have 640 front feet on the Bay Minette bypass,” he said.

Those first donations resulted in donations of money, materials, time and labor that has produced a nearly 7,000-square feet, state-of-the-art facility that will house approximately 100 dogs and 60 cats.

“The response of people in our area has been overwhelming. I’ve lived here for 69 years and I just never dreamed we’d have such an outpouring of response from animal lovers,” Wilkins said. “We’ve received upwards of $275,000 in monetary contributions and $400,000 in in-kind contributions.”

He said one of the largest contributors has been the Matthews family – Dale Ash, Cindy Colville and Hooper Matthews III, a brother and two sisters who own Pepsi-Cola in Atmore. Clyde Weir of Gulf Shores, who has been a big contributor to the Gulf Coast Zoo, as well as the Louis Mapp Family Foundation have also given to the cause.

“After we put the sign up saying the shelter was coming, we started receiving checks from people who had driven by and seen the address,” he said, noting the shelter had received donations from as far away as Birmingham.

Tom Mitchell, through his companies, Stuart Contracting and TEMCO Inc., performed all the excavating for the site. Mitchell has also overseen the work that has been done as the building has taken form.

“This project could never have been undertaken and accomplished without the hard work and dedication of Tom Mitchell,” Wilkins said. “They’ve moved probably 17,000 yards of dirt and he’s overseen all the work. That eliminated us having to hire a general contractor.”

As the project has neared completion, and finishing touches such as landscaping are done, still more donations of labor and material have “rolled” in.

“The sod was donated by people at Cleverdon Farms, Riverview Turf, Craft Turf Farms and Trojan Landscape,” Wilkins said. “We’ve probably had $18,000 worth of sod donated.” Once the sod was collected, David Green brought in a crew and equipment from his company, International Equipment Distributors (IED) to install the sod.

“We have approximately 100 men and women who have volunteered to work at the shelter. Of course, some may only work one or two days a month, but they’ll be there,” he said. “There are some young people who have volunteered, they will walk the dogs and exercise them. Volunteers will perform all services within the shelter.”

Those interested in volunteering can call Judy Wilkins at (251) 937-9325 to sign up. “Judy will be sending out a seven-page questionnaire to find out what areas volunteers want to work, like administration, food prep, cleaning, things like that, and when they can work,” he said.

All animals will be spayed or neutered before leaving the facility, something that will be done on site by Montrose veterinarian Alan Moore. “Dr. Alan Moore of Bay Animal Clinic has graciously offered to perform all spaying and neutering,” Wilkins said. Additionally, Moore helped Wilkins and his group find the appropriate equipment to perform such operations at a fraction of the cost.

“He found a veterinarian in Birmingham who was going out of business. We were able to get the table, lights, everything we need,” Wilkins said. In addition to the spaying and neutering, Wilkins said all animals will have received their vaccinations and other necessary shots. “When people adopt they will have an animal that is prepared to go home,” he said.

Wilkins and his partners knew the shelter needed to be more than a roof and four walls if animals were going to spend an extended amount of time there, so they researched other shelters and visited several throughout the state and neighboring Florida.

“Gina (Ramer, Bay Minette Animal Control Officer) said the best two shelters in the state are in Auburn and Decatur, so we visited those shelters and met with their directors,” Wilkins said. We also visited the Escambia County, Fla., shelter in Pensacola. That’s the shelter we patterned our shelter after. It’s an award-winning shelter.”

“After visiting the two best shelters in Alabama, and the one in Escambia County, Fla., everything here is state-of-the-art,” he said.

That includes a revolutionary floor covering called DeckraTex, a spray-on modified polymer that incorporates, through suspension, decorative fillers such as quartz, sand or other heavy aggregates. The result is a durable flooring that retains its color, is resistant to water, abrasion and solvents and exhibits flexibility.

“It’s a soft floor covering similar to indoor/outdoor carpet, but softer,” Wilkins explained. “They’ve used that material in the runs in Escambia County for 10 years without any exceptional wear.”

“The animals can sleep on the floor and we don’t have to fool with bedding, baskets and all that. It also eliminates sanitation issues,” he said. DeckraTex can simply be hosed down to clean as a regular cement floor would be. “Bringing this in the shelter keeps things more sanitary, keeps any disease from spreading. It is better for the animals, that’s why we’ve gone with that system despite the expense.”

Those worried about the comfort of the animals without blankets to keep them warm can rest easy, as Wilkins and his crew of animal lovers has taken care of that with technology as well.

“The heat will come from under the floor using hot water,” he said. HLH Constructors owner Harrell Harrellson, who has donated the labor and materials for all the plumbing services, said the process of heating a floor in such a way is called radiant heat, and said it is a cleaner, more efficient way to heat.

“Temperature gauges in the floor will keep track of the temperature. If the floor gets below a certain temperature the heat regulator will turn on and heat the floors,” he said, explaining that the regulator will allow the facility to conserve energy.

Stuart Electric began the electrical work, all at little or no cost, but had to pull out mid-way through the project because of a death in the company. Wilkins did not have time to worry, however, as Stuart called on Moody Electric, and the company stepped in and finished the work in the same donated manner.

Paul Bryant Jr. of Reynolds Ready Mix donated and mixed all the concrete used in the building as well as the concrete blocks to build it with. “It had to be a minimum $400,000 worth of concrete,” Wilkins said.

“It has been amazing for a community to come together like this,” he said.

Now, the shelter is almost ready for its debut. “We’re in the cleanup phase right now,” he said.

The shelter will include a puppy room with a table and benches for children to sit and play with the animals, and a kitten room, just inside the main doors. Visitors will sign in and fill out any adoption paperwork and can visit one of two cat rooms, or take a walk along the dog kennels.

The kennels are another example of smart planning. Inside, a guillotine door worked with pulleys allows volunteers to easily let dogs into the outside area of the kennel and close the door for cleaning inside, then reverse the process. The outside kennel area is screened in, providing animals with shade and protection from disease-carrying insects.

A large fenced-in area is provided for families to take a potential pet outside and spend time with them, or for volunteers to exercise the dogs. A long-term project Wilkins said he would like to see is utilizing local Scouts to clear walking paths in the nearby woods so that volunteers can take the dogs for a cool, shaded walk during the hot southern months.

Inside, Wilkins will proudly display the names of all donors, “whether they gave $5 or $5,000.” The facility also includes offices for a director and assistant director, breakroom/conference room, and a sort of sally port where newly arrived animals will be held until they can be checked out.

Also in that holding are four “night drop” doors. The drop off area will allow people dropping off animals to put them inside without leaving the building open. The drop-off doors have a feature that only allows them to open once.

“Once they open the door, put the animal in and close the door, it locks automatically. They can’t get the animals back out,” he said. He said that is to prevent people from coming and trying to steal dogs, primarily those looking for fighting dogs.

Fighting dogs and potentially vicious dogs are the only kind of canines visitors won’t find at the BCAS. “We won’t take pit bulls or rotweilers,” he said. “Those will have to be taken to Magnolia.” He said that was for the safety of his volunteers, many of whom are women.

The shelter will be run by a private board of directors, but will be a strictly public shelter open to the entire county, Wilkins said. “Some (animals) will be picked up by animal control officers, others will be brought in by individuals. We’ll work closely with Gina Ramer,” he said.

With that said, Wilkins said the public shelter will need help from the public in many ways, including financial and social.

“We’re not here to cure all ails. We are limited in size. Many citizens are already (caring for abandoned animals) and we encourage them to continue that. We’re just here to assist,” he said. Financial assistance is always greatly appreciated as well, he said. Donations will also be needed, and can be sent to NBAS, P.O. Box 190, Bay Minette, AL, 36507.

“We hope to be able to operate from funds received from adoption fees and financial assistance from the City of Bay Minette and Baldwin County,” he said.

Though most of the people who work at the shelter will be volunteers, Wilkins said the shelter will eventually have a paid director and assistant director.

The shelter will be open Monday through Saturday, but closed on Sundays. Exact hours have not been determined yet.