By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – In town for a conference in New Orleans this week, representatives from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation took time out of their schedule to expound some energy at animal shelters in and around the metropolitan area.

Nine volunteers from as far away as Missouri and Minnesota came to the LaPlace shelter Thursday for two days of work. The men and women repaired and replaced kennels in the shelter’s dog ward in preparation for the new shelter facility, which is expected to have a groundbreaking in the coming months. Organizers said work was also done at shelters in St. Charles, Jefferson, and Plaquemines Parishes.

St. John Animal Shelter Manager Linda Allen said the parish donated the chain link fencing and poles for the new kennel, and the volunteers supplied the work.

“I think it is just great to have the help, especially since it is free,” Linda Allen, St. John Shelter Manager. “This is a real blessing for us.”

Dr. Bruce Little, a veterinarian from the Chicago area, said the volunteers hoped to satisfy three goals: help with the physical construction of the shelter, bring visibility to the shelter, and create community support for the work that is done at the shelter.