The Saskatoon SPCA has announced the opening of its new facility at 2250 Hanselman Ave. to provide top-tier animal care.
Despite previous challenges, such as the unsuccessful bid for a continued contract as the city’s poundkeeper, the Saskatoon SPCA maintained its commitment to animal welfare. SPCA redirected its efforts towards realizing its vision for a new facility that can provide better care for its animals.
SPCA Executive Director Fred Dyck states, “We’re designing a facility here that meets and more often exceeds industry standards for welfare care of animals.”
Although the new space is open for business, the facility is still undergoing major construction. It won’t be fully operational until early to mid-February.
Currently, the facility only has enough space to accommodate cats.
“We have about 90 animals in our care right now. The majority of them are in foster care. So, we actually rallied a lot of support from the community before this big move and got many foster parents signing up just for this transition period,” said Jemma Omidian, manager of Animal Care and Community Engagement.
The SPCA relies heavily on community support, the organization says — donations, foster care, and people willing to help mean the difference between staying open or closing their doors.
“It’s just amazing, to be honest with you. We can put a call out for some volunteers to come and help us load boxes and move, and they show up,” said Dyck.
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He added, “We’re relying heavily on our foster community to help us stay open and to stay functional.”
Although working at a limited capacity, Saskatoon SPCA prioritizes finding homes for its animals and has already housed its first puppy on the second day of operation.
“We’ve been looking for a Pomski for a while, and one popped up on the SPCA website yesterday. So, I got here really early and stood in line. And I kind of won the lottery,” said Curtis Anderson as he excitedly adopted his new dog.
The new facility includes upgrades such as natural light for animal enclosures, separate entrances for pets to manage diseases and outdoor spaces for animals to play.
“We’re really proud of what we’re putting together here, and that was really where we saw our future,” Dyck said.
“Providing services for the community of Saskatoon and surrounding areas that focused on just the highest animal welfare standards.”
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