Cob: cob and others: animal shelter?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Hi Amanda:

I've worked in a few kennels over the years. One was an Anti-Cruelty shelter
and the other was the city pound. Both of these facilities could house in
excess of 200 animals. When you are working with this many animals health
considerations and ease of cleaning (especially with a volunteer staff)
should be your primary concern. This means a concrete pad that can be hosed
daily. I can't think of any way around it. You might be able to make a sort
of tiled floor out of urbanite. Kennel walls could be stacked urbanite as
well. Cob couldn't stand up to the constant hosing, CEBs would absorb urine,
Soil-Crete, river-rock pebbles or sand provide too much habitat for parvo,
kennel cough & etc.

A large kennel has many areas that are not used directly for housing
animals. Storage for food and bedding could be built with cob. Service
vehicles will need a cob or CEB garage. You must have an office space or
employee lounge where one can get away from all the damnable barking.
Especially in the morning during turnout and cleanup. Its at times like
those that you might be grateful for a 10 minute break behind a 2 ft thick
wall.

One of the principals on which most zoos are built is that animals shall be
thrice surrounded. I have seen dogs actually climb a 10 ft chain link fence.
There where a few times that animals got through two lines of containment
but we never lost one through the third. A large kennel should be completely
surrounded by an 8' fence. Cob or strawbale might be a good choice here with
the added benefit of sound abatement. (And neighbors might be happy to help
you with that!)

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Hope they help, and good
luck with your endeavor.

Cheers;
Michael Fitzgerald
Anthropologist/Woodcarver/Puppetmaker- Former Animal Control Officer

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