As our Center continues to grow and succeed, the need to ensure that our facilities keep pace with our progressive ideas and with the community’s growing needs has become critical. Campaign for Caring began in 2009 and since then, the Center has opened a new state-of-the-art Companion Animal Hospital, Administration Building and most recently, a new Adoption Center.
As we usher in a new era of the Center, the focus has turned to a new Humane Education and Pet Encounter Therapy Complex.
Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Humane Education program is one of the Center’s originals started back in 1972 by Helen Woodward herself. Since then, the program, which serves nearly 14,000 children every year, has been housed in a variety of ways and locations on the property. Its current location under our Pavilion is fully exposed to the elements and the program’s teaching trailers that are too small and lack storage. Additionally, there is a lack of an age appropriate/all ability playground for the children.
The Pet Encounter Therapy (PET) program has operated out of a trailer for about 15 years and is desperately in need of a proper building to house their over 30 therapy and education animals and provide a setting for visiting groups and presentations.
The plan for phase III of Campaign for Caring includes a complete tear down of the old Education house and the construction of a brand new state-of-the-art Humane Education/PET Complex that would meet the needs of children of all ages and provide a safe and comfortable habitat for our therapy and education animals. For the first time, all of the education and therapy programming could exist under one roof and the children, adults and seniors who come to our programs would be able to share their learning and healing environment with our very special animal ambassadors.
Current Plans Include:
In April of 2011, Campaign for Caring completed its first phase. The first portion of the much-needed renovations, began in 2009 and included introducing a new small animal veterinary hospital, as well as a new administrative building. Companion Animal Hospital officially opened in 2013.
On July 17, 2019 Helen Woodward Animal Center opened the doors of its new Adoption Center. Building on the same footprint of the original building, the entirely new construction took 1.5 years to complete and made major updates.
The new building brought adoptable dogs completely indoors, protecting them from rain and heat and made kennel cleaning and access for the staff much more efficient. Rolling service doors also created a pleasant experience for orphan pets and adopters with the ability to keep open during good weather to afford the canines access to fresh air and natural breezes. Large skylights placed throughout the Adoptions Center now also provide bright sunlight to our canine and feline areas.
Building design, especially at the kennels, was created to be environmentally responsible and inspiring at once. Providing an open and airy ambiance with lots of daylight, the spaces are nice to be in but they also do an important job to lessen energy use and naturally cool the inhabitants (animals and people both). Animal movement was a primary consideration in the planning; limiting the animal’s exposure and visibility to other animals when moving through the facility was of critical importance to maintain a quieter, less stressful environment for all human and animal occupants.
It’s not too late to secure your place in our Adoption Center and leave your legacy.
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