Many visitors who come to the Lost City Museum are from outside the local community and are traveling with a pet. Museums cannot allow pets inside the galleries, but the intense heat during much of the year in Southern Nevada makes it unsafe for visitors to leave their pets in their vehicles.
Some pet owners choose not to stop and visit the museum after all. Others take turns staying with their pet outside, which means a family or group cannot tour the museum together. In order to address this issue, staff asked several visitors over a period of 4 months if they would be interested in using a shaded kennel for their pet were it available. Everyone agreed that it would be a great option.
The museum’s 8 staff members are all animal lovers, and want visitors to be able to tour the museum. Because there are no funds in the budget to cover projects such as this, the Docent Council (an incorporated non-profit organization of dedicated museum volunteers who raise money to do projects and purchase needed items which are not in the budget) willingly agreed to host a fundraising campaign to cover the cost of this project.
Our plan is to purchase two 4’x4’x6’ kennels with canopies to install in a small shaded fenced area behind and adjacent to the museum. The kennels will be secured to a cement floor for easy clean up and so that they will not tip over, and a mister system will be installed to cool the area during the hotter months. Signs indicating kennels are available will be placed at the entrance to the museum grounds and near the parking lot. Pet owners will obtain a key from museum personnel and be responsible for securing their pet in the kennel and retrieving their pet prior to leaving the museum.
A small fund will be created to replace damaged mats and bowls. Since your donations are being given to keep pets safe and comfortable, any excess funds will be donated to We Care For Animals (www.wecareforanimals.org), a nearby non-profit animal
Jerrie Clark
Lost City Museum Director
