Bella Vista City Guide

2022 Bella vista city guide | 33 On December 14, 2021, a special holiday edition of Fixer to Fabulous hosted by Jenny and Dave Marrs aired. In the program, the husband-and-wife remodeling team and their crew gave needed upgrades to the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, a nonprofit that has been helping lost furry friends get reunited with their owners or find new loving homes. "e show has been good for foot traffic," said Nancy Cullins, Interim Executive Director of the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. "e Marrs are really important in this area. Jenny Marrs had adopted a cat from the shelter a few years ago and she wanted to do something to give back to the community. And she thought of the animal shelter. So, she reached out to us and asked if we wanted a makeover and we jumped on it." Among the items on the agenda were new dog kennels, a customized cat playroom, a refreshed lobby and exterior and an improved outdoor space. "Most of the renovations were cosmetic," Nancy continued. "e exception was a pergola over the front door with a little cement pad underneath it so people no longer get wet when they walk in. All of the countertops are now granite so they can stand up to being traversed by the animals." e shelter also got outfitted with custom wallpaper for the cat room and now have a run along the ceiling where the cats are enjoying being up high. "In the viewing kennel they repainted everything," Nancy continued. "And the show provided some custom art work for the walls which really makes it look more inviting and more like a place you would like to visit." e Marrs crew also set the shelter up with an outdoor meet and greet area with a privacy fence. e fence helps put a little bit of a barrier between the recent arrivals and the other dogs so they don't get as anxious. During renovations, the nonprofit couldn't have people walking through the shelter but, as fate would have it, covid was causing the shelter to restrict visits to appointment only anyway so it worked out well. "We could keep the make-over a secret during the renovations," Nancy said. "ere were no leaks from our part that it was going on. at said, it limited us for about four months but, as anyone can see, it was well worth the wait." e Bella Vista Animal Shelter provides an invaluable service to the community. "We are a no-kill shelter and we make ourselves available to all of the animals that are found in Bella Vista," Nancy said. "We take in dogs and cats that have been le or abandoned somewhere. We work directly with the city animal control officers and we always try to find the owners of the animals who are lost." All animals that are brought to the shelter are posted on their Facebook page, @BellaVistaAnimalShelter. In addition, they also work with various groups in the area who are also trying to re-home animals. But their main focus is to get pets back to their parents. "If the parents can't be found or no longer want the petm then they work to re-home them," Nancy said. "We try to keep them as comfortable as we can until they find that forever home they are looking for." "I think the employees and volunteers were all thrilled," Jenny Marrs said about the makeover. "ey care about the animals and they were excited about how the space will function for the animals. But they also recognized the fact that now it's just a beautiful space that people are going to feel welcomed. And I think that was always top of mind for them — bringing people in to feel comfortable there so they can come and look at pets and adopt an animal." 32 Bella Vista Way Bella Vista, AR 72714 www.bellavista-animalshelter.org "Providing love & care for homeless animals that need adoption into good homes." A 501 (C)3 Tax Exempt, Not-for-Profit Corporation. www.bellavista-animalshelter.org Come Visit Us! 32 Bella Vista Way Bella Vista, AR 72714 479-855-6020 HoUrs: Tuesday-Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM Closed on Mondays SPONSOR CONTENT Bella Vista Animal Shelter gets a 'fabulous' makeover Photos courtesy HGTV

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