©DeborahCarew – Rescue dog
A delegation from the Peterborough Humane Society and the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) presented their ambitious plans for the development of a joint, state-of-the-art facility to Council at the June 20th meeting. Geoff McPhee of the Peterborough Humane Society’s Board of Directors led the presentation, and was accompanied by Neil Hannam, a consultant specializing in designing capital fundraising campaigns. The presentation outlined the features of the new 23,000 square foot facility on Technology Drive in Peterborough which will replace the current 6800 square foot building on Lansdowne St. West in Peterborough Humane Society where it has been operating since 1955.
The project is well on its way to fruition, with the land purchased, the design and development of the project completed and all re-zoning requirements met and the site ready for construction. The proponents hope construction will commence in January 2017 with occupancy scheduled for early the following year.
The project includes three main components: an Adoption and Education centre and a Regional High-volume Spay Neuter Clinic operated by the Humane Society, and Provincial Dog Rehabilitation Centre operated by the OSPCA. With a price tag of $9.5 million, the project includes an extensive list of features to rival any top of the line veterinary hospital, including medical grade fit and finishes to control resident disease and infection, isolation and quarantine areas, including separate for canine and feline customers, an aquatic therapy room, indoor and outdoor access for animals, an off leash public dog park and 12 acres of on-leash walking trails.
The Humane Society section of the project includes the shelter and adoption services for lost, abused, neglected and abandoned animals and will operate with service agreements with the City of Peterborough and all six county townships. In addition, the organization will introduce enhanced educational programs which they envision will add new revenue streams to their adoption programs.
The introduction of a high volume, low cost spay and neuter clinic is intended to serve a regional population of 625,000, extending east and north of the GTA to include Durham, Kawartha Lakes, Greater Peterborough, Quinte, Lakeshore, and the greater Kingston area. They will perform surgeries for all affiliated Humane Societies in this area, and provide assistance to other animal welfare organizations, including Lakefield Animal Welfare Society and local feral cat groups.
The project is modelled after an existing regional operations located in Newmarket and Barrie, where the spaying and neutering services have resulted in significant decreases in animal shelter intakes, particularly in cats.
The Peterborough location includes a Canadian first: a dog rehabilitation centre operated and funded by the Ontario SPCA, which will provide services to all provincial branches of their organization. This centre will be staffed by experts in dog behaviour and will receive animals flown in from northern First Nations communities for support and eventual return to their home communities.
In addition to operating the rehabilitation centre, the OSPCA is also providing $2 million towards the capital costs of the project and will assume 26.5% of the entire project’s operating costs for the first 20 years. The centre will create 30 new full time equivalent jobs, offer secure indoor and outdoor rental space for local dog obedience trainers and other groups.
While the presentation suggested the campaign to raise capital for the project is in “quiet phase”, that is not quite the case. After their presentation to the City of Peterborough a few weeks ago, the project was awarded with $1.5 million over five years. Peterborough County will likely be the next stop for a capital contribution, but it is unlikely that the six townships will also be approached as that would effectively be “double dipping”.
The project will benefit from Hannam’s fundraising expertise, as he assists the two partner organizations roll out a fundraising program targeted at annual and major gift receipts to bring this major animal welfare project to fruition. Financial projections included in the presentation indicate that the project is expected to generate an operating surplus by the second full year of operations, suggesting that the project will only require fundraising for the capital expenditure, and ongoing financial support would not be required.
Private local veterinary clinics will feel the effect of this project as its subsidized spay and neuter clinic encroaches on their traditional practise. After this issue was raised by Mayor McFadden, presenters acknowledged this inevitable outcome, but suggested the experience of other areas where reduced fee clinics were established, the initial drop in revenue experienced by neighbouring veterinary clinics was ultimately eliminated by increased revenue from more lucrative services to their customers.
Dr. Scott Sargent, who recently invested heavily in the expansion of his local private vet hospital, is concerned about the impact of this new centre on his practise. “In every community where an OSPCA spay/neuter clinic operates, they rely on their local veterinarians to assist them with complicated cases and after care procedures; and we will be here to help. The OSPCA facilities are subsidized by donations and taxpayers’ dollars which means they must rely on veterinarians to assist in anything above the requirements of a basic procedure. We encourage pet owners to develop a relationship with their local veterinarian because there’s nothing better than working with an expert who knows your pets health and history and who can assist with any complications that may arise.”
For pet owners who’ve fallen on hard times, a low cost procedure may be the best option for their pet(s) and we regularly work with clients to help them manage these costs. KG
