Advocates for the new $2.3 million animal shelter in Chatham braved the extreme heat Friday to break ground on the new building, which comes to fruition after three years of fundraising and planning.
A collaboration of the municipality and the public, the new shelter will provide not only more space for rescued animals – about 6,300 square feet compared to the current 1,800 – it will have room for cats and dogs, as well as other types of pets, a community room for school children and events, green area for exercise and a larger parking area.
Lynn McGeachy-Schultz, project manager for the new animal shelter, said the community contributed about 50 per cent to the total project cost and is the first municipally owned building in partnership with the organization running it.
“We think it’s about a seven-month build so we should be in it by late December, early January,” McGeachy-Schultz said. “This has been a project that people have talked about for so long, it’s really time to get it done.”
Dr. Bruce Warwick, a long-time volunteer for the shelter, who joined the “pie ladies” including OSPCA past-president Mary Wood in 1979, said a new shelter has been talked about for about 40 years in Chatham, and after three tries, the day is finally here.
Being a huge advocate of the new shelter, Warwick said there are a lot of people that couldn’t be at the groundbreaking, including Wood, who deserve a lot of credit for keeping the current shelter going in Chatham, bringing them to this point.
“This is a co-ordination of public funds and citizen funds, and we couldn’t have pulled it off otherwise,” Warwick said. “It sends a strong statement I think, that they could do other similar projects in the community in the future.”
The long-time volunteer said the new shelter is so much more than just a shelter, but will have an education component for school children and going out to visit seniors in nursing homes.
Marjorie Crew and Art Stirling, who have been co-chairs of the fundraising committee for the past three and a half years, were very happy to see the project reach the ground-breaking stage. Together with Mayor Randy Hope, council members and senior municipal staff, the duo dug in for the first ceremonial shovel of dirt to kick off construction.
