Illinois Valley Animal Rescue seeks donations to offset expenses of new state regulations

PERU – Illinois Valley Animal Rescue, or IVAR, is a licensed shelter housing hundreds of animals a year, however, new regulations put into effect by the state of Illinois have added a new expense this year, a fire alarm system. In 2019 Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the new Kennel Safety Bill into law, which requires all licensed pet shelters and boarding facilities to have 24/7 monitored fire alarms in all facilities. Chris Tomsha of IVAR said that although this was expected, the expense is something they hope they can offset with donations.
“The system took only six hours to install in both of our buildings” she said Thursday, “But it did cost $4000 with the now $35 monthly subscription to maintain.”
The system will automatically notify the fire department, police, and select staff members of an emergency at the facility .  Anyone interested in assisting the organization can drop off a donation directly to the shelter on Industrial Drive in Peru, or visit their website at IllinoisValleyAnimalRescue.net.