Southwest Coast SPCA Building
Donation protected
The Southwest Coast SPCA is an animal rescue group based in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. The rescue group, which was founded in 2012, has been working diligently to shelter and feed homeless, stray, and abandoned cats and dogs from a variety of communities spread over a large geographic area in the Southwestern corner of our province. We also provide any needed medical care for the rescues, which has proven to be very expensive.
Without an actual shelter, the group resorted to leasing vacant buildings in the community, in an effort to offer temporary homes for the rescued animals; unfortunately none were sufficient, but the group had to make due with what was available.
Back in 2015, the community was devastated when the building housing the Southwest Coast SPCA was destroyed by fire. 24 cats and kittens lost their lives. The community got behind their local SPCA. A Go fund me effort was created to raise money to build a new shelter. A total of $80,000 was raised, but building costs far exceed that amount.
The group currently operates a tiny shelter located in the former H&R Block building on Main Street Stephenville. The building, however, is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the shelter. Puppies and dogs are kept either at the pound, or in foster homes. Kittens are also fostered out. Our current location is barely big enough to house the 13 adult cats currently in our care. We also have a long wait list of adult cats waiting to be housed in the shelter. To cope with the shortage of space, many of our volunteers have turned spare rooms in their homes into temporary shelters.
Care for cats and kittens is very expensive. They require food, deworming treatments, flea treatments, all sorts of testing, spay/neutering, and of course litter. We have to pay those expenses not only for the cats currently living in the shelter, but for the kittens in foster care.
The west coast of Newfoundland is also dealing with a major cat epidemic. Cats can have up to four litters per year, each litter consisting of up to 8 kittens at a time. We currently run a TNR (Trap, Neuter, and Release) program to help control the cat population, and as you might guess, this is very costly. We are seeking your assistance to help care for the rescues, the TNR program, and of course to help offset the cost of building the new shelter. We have charitable status, so we can issue tax receipts for any donations over $25.
This video is just a hint of the devastation caused by the fire, which took the lives of so many rescue cats and kittens:
The Town Dog Pound
Our shelter requires better housing for its rescues. With a new shelter, we could have sufficient lodging for all rescues. For now this is all we have. We need your help to build better temporary housing for rescued dogs and cats.
Temporary Kitten Shelter set up in Volunteer's home. We have to rely so much on our volunteers, both at the shelter and in their homes.
As you can see, our cat shelter, which is located on Main Street Stephenville is vastly inefficient. The rooms are small, and with a capacity of less than 15 cats, we have no space to house our rescues. We have to turn away so many possible rescued because we just do not have the space to accommodate them. Our volunteers are becoming overwhelmed with the lack of space.
Below is a picture of two of our volunteers, standing in front of the future location of the Southwest Coast SPCA. This can become a reality with your help. Give now to help build the new shelter.
In a Western Star article dated January 13, 2019, Frank Gale explained how the Animal Shelter was expected to begin construction in the spring. Current Southwest Coast Director Diane Simon went on to say she is 'over the moon' with the thought of the Southwest Coast SPCA breaking ground this spring for the construction of a new animal shelter. for more on this article, check out the following link: Animal Shelter in Stephenville expected to go up this year
Below are sketches of our proposed Southwest Coast SPCA Animal Shelter.
We are in the process of building our new shelter. With under $100,000, our dream has a long way to go before it becomes a reality. To build a shelter adequate to serve the relatively large area, estimated costs are nearly quadruple the money we currently have. We are looking to the general public for help. The Southwest Coast SPCA now has its Charitable Status. We can issue tax receipts for any donations $25 and up.
Without an actual shelter, the group resorted to leasing vacant buildings in the community, in an effort to offer temporary homes for the rescued animals; unfortunately none were sufficient, but the group had to make due with what was available.
Back in 2015, the community was devastated when the building housing the Southwest Coast SPCA was destroyed by fire. 24 cats and kittens lost their lives. The community got behind their local SPCA. A Go fund me effort was created to raise money to build a new shelter. A total of $80,000 was raised, but building costs far exceed that amount.
The group currently operates a tiny shelter located in the former H&R Block building on Main Street Stephenville. The building, however, is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the shelter. Puppies and dogs are kept either at the pound, or in foster homes. Kittens are also fostered out. Our current location is barely big enough to house the 13 adult cats currently in our care. We also have a long wait list of adult cats waiting to be housed in the shelter. To cope with the shortage of space, many of our volunteers have turned spare rooms in their homes into temporary shelters.
Care for cats and kittens is very expensive. They require food, deworming treatments, flea treatments, all sorts of testing, spay/neutering, and of course litter. We have to pay those expenses not only for the cats currently living in the shelter, but for the kittens in foster care.
The west coast of Newfoundland is also dealing with a major cat epidemic. Cats can have up to four litters per year, each litter consisting of up to 8 kittens at a time. We currently run a TNR (Trap, Neuter, and Release) program to help control the cat population, and as you might guess, this is very costly. We are seeking your assistance to help care for the rescues, the TNR program, and of course to help offset the cost of building the new shelter. We have charitable status, so we can issue tax receipts for any donations over $25.
This video is just a hint of the devastation caused by the fire, which took the lives of so many rescue cats and kittens:
The Town Dog Pound
Our shelter requires better housing for its rescues. With a new shelter, we could have sufficient lodging for all rescues. For now this is all we have. We need your help to build better temporary housing for rescued dogs and cats.
Temporary Kitten Shelter set up in Volunteer's home. We have to rely so much on our volunteers, both at the shelter and in their homes.
As you can see, our cat shelter, which is located on Main Street Stephenville is vastly inefficient. The rooms are small, and with a capacity of less than 15 cats, we have no space to house our rescues. We have to turn away so many possible rescued because we just do not have the space to accommodate them. Our volunteers are becoming overwhelmed with the lack of space.
Below is a picture of two of our volunteers, standing in front of the future location of the Southwest Coast SPCA. This can become a reality with your help. Give now to help build the new shelter.
In a Western Star article dated January 13, 2019, Frank Gale explained how the Animal Shelter was expected to begin construction in the spring. Current Southwest Coast Director Diane Simon went on to say she is 'over the moon' with the thought of the Southwest Coast SPCA breaking ground this spring for the construction of a new animal shelter. for more on this article, check out the following link: Animal Shelter in Stephenville expected to go up this year
Below are sketches of our proposed Southwest Coast SPCA Animal Shelter.
We are in the process of building our new shelter. With under $100,000, our dream has a long way to go before it becomes a reality. To build a shelter adequate to serve the relatively large area, estimated costs are nearly quadruple the money we currently have. We are looking to the general public for help. The Southwest Coast SPCA now has its Charitable Status. We can issue tax receipts for any donations $25 and up.
Organizer and beneficiary
Diane Simon
Organizer
Stephenville, NL
Diane Simon
Beneficiary
