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REIDSVILLE — Joan Gale McKinney died last month in a farming accident, but her memory will live on in more ways than one.

McKinney’s family asked that donations be made in her name to the Rockingham County Animal Shelter. Since her death on Sept. 11, the shelter campaign has received about $2,000 in memorials.

Gifts such as those, although a small portion of the new shelter’s $1.8 million cost, are what has kept the campaign afloat.

“Every week, I get people coming forward wanting to help us, and that’s really encouraging,” said Julie Swanner, the campaign’s fundraising manager. “I feel like, from that standpoint, we’ve been extremely successful.”

But the county had hoped to raise at least half of the money needed from private donors.

More than a year after the campaign began, its coffers hold about $115,000.

Now, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners is pursuing a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay for the shelter.

Commissioner Bobby Stanley, chairman of the animal shelter advisory committee, said it would have been difficult to raise that much money even in the best of economic times.

“Times are hard,” he said. “It’s hard to get people to contribute to something when they don’t have it.”

The current shelter is a small holding space on the property of Reidsville Veterinary Hospital. The county pays the hospital $129,000 a year for housing its animals, according to the current contract. The hospital also receives $20 an hour, up to 15 hours a week, to pay for costs associated with putting animals to death.

Euthanasia rates at the shelter have been as high as 98 percent and now are about 80 percent. County officials hope a larger facility with amenities will lower those rates and help move more animals into permanent homes.

Those amenities include a low-cost spay and neuter clinic, an adoption wing and bonding area. “All those features, we think, are really going to be a nice enhancement to adoptions over the long term,” said Adam Lindsay, the county’s budget and performance manager.

The spay and neuter clinic is key to keeping the pet population down and controlling the costs of the new shelter, officials say.

The commissioners have approved the shelter design, Lindsay said.

But whether the amenities will be built now or later is still up in the air. “It’s designed so that it can be built all at once or later,” he said.

The county will advertise this month for project bids, Lindsay said.

County officials will compare bids for building a basic shelter versus a more inclusive one before deciding how much they will need to borrow from the Department of Agriculture, he said. The loan carries repayment terms of up to 40 years with about a 4 percent interest rate, officials said.

Bids would likely be awarded in mid-November, with construction taking about 10 months, Lindsay said.

Meanwhile, the fundraising continues. The county recently learned it received a $5,000 grant from Petco, and Swanner said some previously held events that were successful in raising money will be repeated.

The campaign will also continue to raise money after the new shelter opens to help with operating costs, Swanner said.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com.