BREAKING GROUND AND SAVING LIVES
Helen Woodward Animal Center Begins Construction on New Adoptions Building…
(Helen Woodward Animal Center adoptable gets ready for construction.)
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Jan. 8, 2018) – Helen Woodward Animal Center is excited to announce a monumental event in the organization’s history. This weekend, the official groundbreaking for a brand new Adoptions Building will commence with a private ceremony for Center staff, supporters, board members and friends. The construction of the new building marks the second phase in the Campaign for Caring – a multi-year mission to rebuild Helen Woodward Animal Center’s aging facilities, many of which have been in place since the organization’s founding in 1972. The media is invited to attend the private groundbreaking ceremony to help celebrate the Center’s exciting step forward.
The reconstruction of Helen Woodward Animal Center’s Adoptions Building symbolizes the fulfillment of years of hopes and expectations for the Center’s further advancement. The project is particularly important due to the incredible growth and impressive increase in number of animals served today versus its founding. In 1972, 300 animals came through the Center doors each year. Today approximately 3,500 orphan pets receive life-saving medical care and placement in forever homes annually, despite its staff working within the same medical and adoptions structure. Additionally, the Center now accepts 95% of its orphan pets from animal shelters around the country, all requiring physical and behavioral exams upon entry, as well as vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries.
Perhaps most pressing, the dimensions of Helen Woodward Animal Center’s adoption surgery suite, built over 45 years ago, is only slightly larger than a closet – with a single surgery table providing the sole location available to perform thousands of surgeries per year. (In fact the area was once a storage closet – with a wall knocked down to add more space. The area became necessary in 1999 when spay and neuter regulations came into effect and made the building modification necessary.) On a typical day the tiny exam room and its medical staff see incoming orphan pets, foster animals in need of medical treatment, and Center orphan pets in need of immediate medical care.
Plans for the new adoptions building promise many exciting changes including a more efficient and private entrance for transfer partners bringing in animals; a larger office for adoption’s veterinarians; a second exam room for use by the rest of the medical team; and a larger surgical suite with room for two surgery tables that can be utilized simultaneously. Other improvements include kennels that will be completely enclosed to protect orphan pets from the weather while allowing easy cleaning and access by the staff, and a lobby and adoptions area that is more aesthetically pleasing to encourage potential adopters to visit more often and stay longer to increase adoptions.
“We are beyond thrilled to embark into this massive next phase for the Center,” stated Helen Woodward Animal Center VP of Development Renee Resko. “It’s truly a dream come true. We are as excited for our staff and adopters as we are for the orphan dogs and cats that come through our doors each year. The new facility will provide the type of enclosures that will not only be incredibly comfortable for these pets, but it will also make it easier to show them off and get them into their new forever homes more quickly, allowing us to increase the number of animals we serve.”