With their current shelter "bursting at the seams," the Sarnia and District Humane Society has selected a new site to build its headquarters.
The organization was looking to acquire three acres just east of its current location on Exmouth Street, but thanks to community donations they've now purchased five acres of land across from the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park on Wellington Street.
The new facility will be able to accommodate 200 animals, whereas the current city-owned site holds about 130.
It will include indoor and outdoor accessibility for both cats and dogs, do it yourself dog wash stations, a cat café, education and training areas and plenty of green space.
They also want to incorporate a medical component as well, which is something that's sorely needed locally.
Executive Director Donna Pyette said their current space is too small and is no longer meeting their needs.
"We have expanded into offices and hallways currently with regards to both cats and dogs," said Pyette. "Our dog population has blown up quite a bit since the end of COVID. Obviously, we're using a lot of our fosters, the shelter, and some other really nice people who are helping us to house some of these animals."
Pyette said they're hoping to break ground and open sometime in 2024.
"The dogs are thrilled," joked Pyette. "We have big plans and big goals. We've received a lot of positive feedback and a lot of support. The land purchase was just something that was unexpected and just such a gift to us. There's a lot more support out there than I think we even imagine. We're pretty excited."
Pyette said the City of Sarnia has been a cooperative partner throughout the process.
"They're very happy to hear about the land purchase," she said. "It works out really well for us. It gives us a permanent home on our own land, and allows them the ability to probably use this area to further expand their plans for the waterfront."
The capital campaign "The Way Home" will officially launch in October.
The fundraising goal was initially between $2 million and $3 million, but Pyette said that number will likely be slightly adjusted.
"We're actually back to the drawing board with Dale Engineering and Ken Maaten from Maaten Construction to look at a little bit of an expansion," said Pyette. "We're not going to go too much bigger because we want to maintain a lot of that green space."
She said more details about the campaign will be released at a later date.
