Dakini Valley
Dakini Valley
In 2005, following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, a group of Buddhist monks rescued several dogs from New Orleans and created an emergency shelter in a remote site near Payson. The operation evolved from a temporary rescue operation into an organization committed to saving the lives of dogs on death row in overcrowded shelters across the country. Kunzang is the main caretaker for the dogs in Dakini Valley. Currently the site is still operating with the same emergency facilities and resources given in the aftermath of the hurricane. At any given time there are anywhere from 50 to 100 dogs on site, kept in large fenced-in enclosures. Kunzang’s vision is to have several structures, each housing around 8 to 10 dogs, for the dogs that are adoptable, and a few larger structures, each housing around 20 to 30 dogs, for the dogs that cannot be adopted. She would also like to see a small medical facility with basic veterinary supplies. With the growth of the animal shelter, Kunzang hopes to have three more monks come to live at Dakini Valley and help care for the dogs. Therefore, a house would have to be built on-site for the monks.
Since the site is off-grid, power is generated through solar cells and propane tanks and the ideal situation would be removing the site’s dependence on propane altogether. Currently all of the water is pumped from an underground well, however, there is a stream running through the property that will hopefully be incorporated in the designs to provide indoor plumbing. With the multidisciplinary nature of the project at Dakini Valley, collaboration has formed between Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University student and professional engineering groups. EWB-ASU is currently working on designing the structures for the dogs while the NAU group is working on designs for using water from the stream for plumbing. The next phase of the project will include designing the house and medical facility. But first and foremost, Kunzang worries about the dogs, and so the focus is on providing them with comfortable living conditions.
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Presidents - Kathleen Myers-Haeussler & Tyler Norkus
Vice Presidents - Tatum McMillan & August Westby
Treasurer - Gabe Dryden
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Head of K-12 Outreach - Zain Syed
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