THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WAHOO, Neb. — You might say that Debora Wilcox is really going to be in the doghouse.

Not that she’s in trouble.

Quite the contrary. For some time now, the Wahoo resident has been rescuing lost dogs in Saunders County and helping to find them homes.

Now, she and others involved in Saunders County Lost Pets-Pet Rescue have bought a 5,500-square-foot building in Wahoo.

The facility will be used for animal rescue. However, it also will be the site of a doggy daycare and a place where pet owners can board their pets. It will include an indoor play area. It also has a small area outside where they can play on nice days.

Wilcox believes that, eventually, the shelter will be able to house 40 dogs and 20 cats.

“We won’t be able to take in every animal, because we’re not a Humane Society, although we function as that,” she said. “We’ll have to have space for dog boarding and training and daycare to pay the bills.”

Work already has begun on the building.

“We’ve been painting and working on the walls and flooring,” she said.

Drains are being installed for easy cleaning.

“We’ll be putting indoor kennels in soon, and we’ll put up some fencing,” she said.

Wilcox also is seeking donations of ceramic tile and has received about 15 boxes so far.

The group also is planning a fundraiser called Walk for Paws on Sept. 20.

Wilcox’s efforts to help lost animals began after two of her own dogs ran off in 2005 while she and her husband, Glen, had taken down part of a fence and were laying sod.

“We never saw them again. Never,” Wilcox said. “We drove every country road. We went everywhere, to Omaha, to Fremont and Lincoln, and called. I probably went to Omaha for a full year.”

During that heartbreaking time, Wilcox noticed lots of other dogs that no one was looking for.

Since then, Wilcox has worked to help stray dogs in Saunders County and near David City find homes. She formed the Saunders County Lost Pets-Pet Rescue, a nonprofit corporation. Without her efforts, the strays would be euthanized.

Wilcox started by helping strays picked up by law enforcement officials and paid to have the animals spayed or neutered and vaccinated. At first, she paid the bills herself. Since forming the corporation, she’s had some contributions.

She helped about 200 dogs in 2007 and 2008, combined. She says that so far this year, the group has rescued 68 dogs.

Wilcox is excited about the new building.

“We’ll be where people can see us and that will help to increase adoptions for pets, and that’s the important part,” she said.