Bedford Humane Society buys plot for adoption center

With its recent purchase of land in the city of Bedford, the Bedford Humane Society is one step closer to fulfilling a 16-year dream of building a no-kill adoption center.

The society last week bought nearly 4 acres of property on Ole Turnpike Drive close to U.S. 460 in the city’s western portion. The site includes the former Bedford County Girl’s Home, which in 2007 was moved to a nearby facility.

Doreen Ehasz, executive director of the society, said the land is a perfect fit because of its central location, which had been a goal in the past several years of searching for the right site.

“We’re right in the middle of the county now,” said Ehasz. “We should be accessible to everyone.”

The adoption center would have limited admission and may hold up to nearly 50 cats and dogs, she said.

It’s been a dream to have such a center since the society’s formation in 1993, she said. It would help relieve animal overpopulation in Bedford County, as well as mitigate capacity issues at the county’s “overburdened, tax-funded” shelter on Falling Creek Road, she said.

The site would also serve as an office headquarters and provide programs, like affordable spay and neutering.

The land’s commercial zoning allows for shelters, she said. City officials recently approved a preliminary site plan for a 6,000-square-foot facility.

“We’re limited by Bedford City zoning to small animals,” Ehasz said. “Right now, we’re planning on cats and dogs.”

Ehasz said the former girl’s home building, which was built in 1948, would be used and a new structure would be built near it with the possibility of a walkway connecting them. The society hasn’t targeted an opening date yet, she said, and the facility’s size and quality would depend on community support.

“We are confident that the residents of Bedford are a humane and caring community who will work together with us to improve conditions for area pets,” she said. “Donation of services, materials and equipment, as well as funding, will be needed to make the adoption center a reality.”

Karin Baldwin, a Lynchburg Realtor and society member, worked on the purchase and donated her commission of more than $7,000 to the purchase, Ehasz said. David Whitehurst, an attorney who also supports the society, also offered his services at a substantially reduced rate, she said.

The adoption center will bear the name of the late Vernon D. Lybolt Jr.

In June 2007, the society board of directors decided to sell Lybolt’s Forest estate — which had been valued at $600,000 — and use the proceeds for a new facility.

Lybolt, who died in July 2004 at age 57, had left it in his will to “The Bedford County ASPCA, Animal Shelter,” but no organization by that name exists.

The Bedford County Animal Shelter, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and relatives of Lybolt, who was unmarried and without children, contested for the estate in litigation that lasted nearly three years.

The Virginia Supreme Court in February 2007 issued a ruling that landed ownership of the estate to the society. It represents the largest donation Ehasz said the nonprofit has received to date and was the main catalyst in the land purchase.