By Tanya Cronin

Kamloops SPCA $1.2 million away from a new shelter

May 10, 2016 | 4:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops SPCA is into the final leg of fundraising for a brand new shelter, but needs to raise $1.2 million to make the project happen. The non-profit agency has plans for a 10,000 square foot facility, built on 2.2 acres of property in Brocklehurst. 

The Kamloops shelter cares for nearly 1400 animals every year, but the current space isn’t big enough and doesn’t allow staff to offer the quality of care the animals deserve.

It has been plagued by ring worm outbreaks, space issues, and it’s old and run down.

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“We actually moved into this facility in 1988, it was reconstructed from a motorcycle shop,” says Alyssa Kyllo, Interim Branch Manager of Kamloops SPCA.

For over 2 decades, the Kamloops SPCA has operated out of its 8th Street location, but the building is well past its best-before date and in need of an upgrade. Now, after years of lobbying for a new facility, that dream is soon to become a reality. 

“We’ve been able to keep up with renovations, but renovations take you so far and we’re constricted in the amount of space we have, so we’ll have 2.2 acres to build and work with which will be a huge liberty that we don’t have here.”

10,000 square feet, the brand new shelter will be built in Brocklehurst on Tranquille Road, near the Kamloops Airport. It will transform how some of the most vulnerable animals in our community are cared for. But it comes at a price, and the agency must fundraise $1.2 million to pay for the planned $4.8 million centre. 

“There’s a foundation that has already expressed some interest as well as one or two major donors, so we’re really confident over the next 6 months, between local residents as well as animal lovers across British Columbia, that we’re going to raise that last $1.2 million,” says Craig Daniell, BC SPCA CEO.

“Something we don’t currently have here is a multi-purpose room that will support humaine education programs, community gatherings, events, that’s something we struggle to offer here because we don’t have the physical space to support it, that’s something we’re really looking forward to expand,” says Kyllo.

The state-of-the-art facility will include modern animal welfare designs to promote the highest levels of animal health. It will serve as a critical hub for animal cruelty investigations in the region, include shared apartments for dogs, indoor-outdoor space, and over 2,000 square-feet will be set aside for a spay/neuter clinic.

“Which will be a huge help for us so we’re not transporting animals from our building to our spay and neuter clinic, we’ll be able to bring them together and provide the service of animal adoptions.” 

While the provincial government has provided $1.3-million in funding for the project, the Kamloops SPCA will rely on the community opening up their hearts to help reach that $1.2 million goal.  

“We would really like to see the community rally behind that and the faster we raise it, hopefully the sooner we can get started on that new building,” says Kyllo.          

For more information, please visit www.spca.bc.ca/kamloopscares