The Whitman County Humane Society plans to become fully operational Oct. 1 after completing building renovations and new staff training.

The society has experienced a tumultuous past few months after six out of seven of its staff resigned in August. The shelter has been working on renovating the facilities as well as interviewing candidates to fill the empty staff positions.

John Musselwhite, president of the board, said the society has hired a shelter manager and office manager, along with two full-time employees. It is currently interviewing candidates for four part-time positions. Musselwhite said over the past month, the shelter has received 20 applications for the shelter manager position and 50 applications for staff positions.

Musselwhite said renovations at the shelter are about 90% complete. Board member George Farwell said most of the big projects at the shelter have been finished, and now they just need to finish painting and cleaning. The facility was built in 2009, he said, and needed a deep clean.

One major renovation project done at the facility was adding a staff break room, Musselwhite said. Jeff DeBoer, vice president of the board, said the room will serve several functions for staff, including providing a clean space to eat, a quiet place to relax and privacy for changing.

DeBoer said the society will also launch membership options on their website Oct. 1, adding that the shelter has been working on updating and revising membership options during this renovation and relaunch period.

Over the past month, the society has taken in 50 stray cats and seven stray dogs, Musselwhite said. He added that most of the cats are kittens and the shelter is working on finding temporary foster housing.

Musselwhite said the society has raised around $6,000 from fundraising events in August and September. In a July meeting, the board announced the society needed to raise around $75,000 by December to keep the institution operational. DeBoer said the budget has drastically changed since the shelter has been operating without as many paid staff members. He added that it’s hard for the society to accurately discuss the budget because of these staffing changes — the shelter’s employee budget shrank significantly after the staff resignations reduced payroll and operation costs. The board said at the meeting Monday that it could not provide more budget details at this time.

The society will continue to hold a monthly fundraising event, Musselwhite said. This month, the shelter will hold a Cat Match Fever! campaign, with a fundraising goal of $5,000. The campaign has been active since Sept. 11 and encourages people to donate online at whitmanpets.org, or in-person at the shelter at 1340 SE Old Moscow Road, in Pullman. Musselwhite said the society will also hold a Howl-O-Ween costume party fundraiser for dogs from 1-5 p.m. Oct. 22. At the fundraiser, people can enter their dog’s costume for $10 and take pictures at a photo booth.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.