PEI Humane Society – The Expanding Our Paw Print Project
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dozen kittens at the PEI Humane Society became sick with fading kitten syndrome last December. The reason? Cold temperatures inside
that will include new sickbays, recovery rooms, and treatment facilities for sick and injured animals, among other things. Heat and hot water supply, and employee and volunteer safety, are just some of the issues that need to be addressed at the current facility. These much- needed upgrades will protect staff and other healthy animals at the shelter, and increase the shelter’s ability to focus on providing the best possible care for animals seeking their forever homes. The Humane Society’s facility was built in 1993, thanks to a generous gift that financed much of its construction. It was a tremendous improvement over the previous building, but animal health professionals have since gained a deeper understanding of the critical relationship between environment and health. Now, principles of shelter design focus on creating an environment that reduces animal stress, controls disease, and promotes overall wellness. Redesigning the shelter will address critical issues like air quality, temperature, and disease control- -improvements which will help provide the best possible environment for care. For more information on how you can help, or if you would like to donate to the Expanding Our Paw Print project, please see the PEI Humane Society’s website at www.peihumanesociety.com.
the shelter. The community rallied, bringing space heaters and warming pads to keep the kittens warm around the clock. While these tremendous efforts saved the lives of the kittens, the young cats needed six extra weeks to recuperate. This story underlines the critical role a facility plays in the health of the animals inside. The PEI Humane Society’s mission is to promote quality of life for companion animals. The staff and volunteers work tirelessly to improve the health and living conditions for companion pets across Prince Edward Island. However, the premises are now causing issues in carrying out that mandate, resulting in resources being redirected to provide short-term fixes for infrastructure issues instead of being used for education, outreach, and the overall wellness of the companion animal population. It has been close to twenty-five years since any significant capital upgrade has occurred on the premises, and after much consideration, the decision has been made to commence a capital campaign to fund a renovation construction budget.
The PEI Humane Society’s Expanding our Paw Print project is a large-scale renovation project
SUMMER 2019 www.pei-living.ca
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