The Cochrane & Area Humane Society broke ground and started construction for its new Rehabilitation and Education Centre last week.
“It is exciting that construction started and it’ll be really great when it is finished,” said Jaimie Anton, the shelter’s fund development officer.
The current shelter is located at Griffin Industrial Point with the current Education and Training Centre operating out of the society’s downtown location. With the expansion to the society’s programs and an increase in participation, the current location no longer has the capacity and will also not be available at the end of the year because the facility was on loan to the society by a gracious donor.
“Once built, we can expand programming to successfully serve our rapidly growing community,” the campaign states on the shelter’s website.
Staff from the shelter started a fundraising campaign last October to reach the $850,000 goal and to date the shelter has raised 83 per cent of the fundraising goal with approximately $143,000 outstanding.
The new facility, which will hopefully be ready to use by the end of the year, will be a 4,000-square-foot-building behind the current shelter.
The staff is still seeking foster homes for the pets currently staying at the shelter to avoid additional stress onto the animals.
“We are certainly getting creative with our space and we are looking for foster homes if anyone is interested in fostering,” Anton explained.
“We are also asking our volunteers to help and take the dogs out for day trips or even a couple hours just to get them out of the construction noise.”
Once complete the new building will have the space to offer educational opportunities, including training and behaviour seminars for the public, staff and volunteers; expand child/youth education programs that currently engage with more than 500 children each year; and also give additional space for the growing demand of the Pet Safe Program for victims of domestic violence and the Emergency Boarding Program for families suffering person hardship that need to temporarily house their pets.
Anton said the shelter has been seeing a “steady intake” of animals so far this year, but once the new facility is complete the staff will have the opportunity to potentially house more animals, if needed, and it will “definitely help” when the shelter takes in a large number of animals from seizures.
“It will be great not only for our shelter animals but the community as well,” Anton said.
For more information call 403-932-2072, visit the society at 62 Griffin Industrial Point, or go to cochranehumane.ca
