PENDLETON — The Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter received a big funding boost to support essential kennel repairs and dog yard upgrades.

Shawna Nulf, manager of the Pendleton Walmart, during an award ceremony March 25 outside the shelter, handed a giant check for $20,000 to Shaindel Beers, vice president of PAWS.

This is the second grant PAWS has received from the Walmart Foundation. Beers said the first grant was in January, and Walmart in February, to the shelter’s surprise, confirmed the second grant was coming, bringing the total to $40,000.

To apply for the grant, Beers submitted a video that highlighted the shelter’s ongoing challenges with its aging kennels.

“The  outdoor kennels were built in 2015 and they’ve had a lot of wear and tear,” she said. “We actually had some dogs that were getting injured. The welds were coming loose and they would stick their paws in and get a paw caught or something.”

Beers said PAWS cares for about a thousand animals each year. She emphasized the constant need for repairs and maintenance, noting the kennels are always full and the cleaning demands are ongoing.

“ Large donations, like the very generous sizable $20,000 grant from Walmart, make a huge difference,” she said. “We welcome donations of all sizes, but something like this can definitely pay for us to fix or redo lots of kennels.”

Kennels cost around $900 each and last 10 years, and the shelter hopes for another decade of use from the new ones, Beers said.

Beers expressed her gratitude for the Walmart Foundation and everything it has done for the community, noting the grant will make a difference in providing shelter pets with a safe and secure place to live until they find their forever home.

In addition, Beers noted shelters nationwide are facing a crisis affecting 2.7 million animals that missed spay-neuter appointments during pandemic lockdowns. She stressed all shelters need help and encouraged community members to support their local shelters.