Valley Grande and Orrville may pony up to help the Selma Animal Shelter.

Both cities are currently considering donating to the shelter as a part of annual donations through fiscal year 2015 budgets.

The shelter is currently funded by the City of Selma and Dallas County. Both include the shelter in their yearly budgets, with about $20,000 coming from Dallas County.

The animal shelter falls under the Selma Police Department and has varied in the total amount allocated for expenses each year.

“Over half of the animals we get come from outside of the city limits,” said Selma councilwoman Susan Keith, whose ward includes the shelter.

With municipal budgets for the upcoming year due on Sept. 30, Orrville Mayor Louvenia Lumpkin and Valley Grande Mayor Wayne Labbe both say they are considering contributing a portion of their city’s money to help with operations.

“Right now it’s still up in the air, as we finish our budget and look at which way our donations go,” Labbe said. “It’s one of the probably ten to twelve different items that people have come to us for in the past year.”

Labbe said the final donation, if approved by the Valley Grande City Council, would likely be $12,000 to $15,000.

“It’s something we will consider because we do receive some of the benefits from the shelter,” he said.

Though Lumpkin didn’t give an exact number the council was considering, she said Orrville should donate because it benefits from the shelter’s services.

“It’s the only shelter we have in Dallas County,” Lumpkin said. “I feel like if we are going to use it, then the town should help out.”

Selma city councilwoman Susan Keith, whose ward includes the shelter, said a potential donation would primarily help with medical bills.

“Selma does not comprise a majority of the dogs that come in,” Keith said. “We get a lot of animals from the Orrville area and Valley Grande is a big animal loving community. I would like for us to provide all-around care and prevent it when they first come into the shelter.”

Inclusion in Valley Grande and Orrville’s budget could also help with a renovation Keith is planning to pay for using oil lease funds.

The renovation would quarantine dogs for observation when first arriving in the shelter.

“We have learned that pet owners are not always responsible,” Keith said. “Sometimes animals come into the shelter, haven’t had their shots and have diseases. Doing these expansions and changes requires more than rearranging; it requires expenditures.”

Keith also encouraged Dallas County residents to make donations to the sheltes, making check payable to the Selma Animal Shelter.

If successful, Keith’s plans would be the second of two recent renovations to the shelter.

“I don’t know if people realize realize the improvements that we have worked tirelessly to make out there,” Keith said. “The shelter has come a long way and it hasn’t come without spending money.”

A previous project changed the shelter’s cat adoption area to be free roaming inside of a room near the front of the building.