Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Animals move today to new Edmonton shelter

Very cool, I knew they were getting a new facility, but didn't know they had revenue generating ideas and classrooms for summer camps etc! I LOVE the idea of classes to educate children on responsible pet ownership, I think that it makes a bigger impression rather than parents, (tho lord know we try) kids going to a class especially for it, and perhaps with some hands on learning as well.

From the Edmonton Journal:

More than 200 shelter animals will be transported from the society's cramped, crumbling 60-year-old facility on Yellowhead Trail on Tuesday morning into the new $22-million Chappelle Centre for Animal Care.

Suffused with natural light, the new 56,000-square-foot facility is the vision of executive director Stephanie McDonald, who developed her ideas through touring more than 70 animal shelters across North America.

Designed to promote animal care and reduce stress — a trigger for disease — the facility also includes a number of revenue-generating elements, among them a day care for dogs, a coin-operated dog bath and an off-leash park that's fenced and gated.

It also has community classroom space, which will be used for workshops and seminars, and for a summer camp where children can learn about responsible pet ownership.

The society plans to develop programs, too, focussed on socialization and behavioural issues, two of the biggest reasons owners surrender their pets.

"We're going to shape young minds here and they're going to change the face of animal care in our community," McDonald said in an interview earlier this year.

"This will be a place you'll want to come to, not just because you want to adopt an animal but because you want to educate your kids, or because you want to volunteer."

The new centre, which is located at 13620 163rd Street, is scheduled to open during the first week of May.

2 comments:

Cori said...

I was really impressed by the sketch drawings they showed on the news this morning. It looks really nice!

miss b said...

I think it's awesome about the facility and I think the classes are cool, but I have to respectfully disagree that it'll mean more coming from a complete stranger. If we as parents model responsible pet ownership it will be a part of children's daily living, they won't know anything else, but if we don't then that's what they will learn. As proven by the large amounts of animal crap in MY pet free backyard and in the field behind my house, there are a LOT of irresponsible pet owners out there. It'll more than likely be the "responsible" pet owners sending their kids to these camps anyway... (sorry for the mini rant there)