Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent to upgrade Shenton Park animal shelters, with dental surgery, bereavement rooms and a kennel among the new facilities planned.
Operators of Cat Haven and Dogs Refuge Home told PerthNow this week that without state government funding, announced last week as part of the state budget, improvements would only have been possible if ‘they had received significant legacies from cat and dog lovers.
Cat Haven account manager Alison Groves said their $ 150,000 would go to two bereavement rooms and a dedicated dental room with equipment.
“We are creating two mourning rooms where people who abandon cats or who have bereaved a cat that must have been asleep can do so in privacy to say goodbye,” she said.
“We are also transforming one of our open spaces into a dedicated dental room with specialized equipment that will allow a lot more dental surgeries on site, which is very important with the increase in dental diseases that we see in our felines.
“At the moment, with our veterinary clinic, we can only fit dental care into the schedule when time and space allow.
Had the Cat Haven not received its cash injection, Ms Groves said facility upgrades would have remained a “wish”.
“Even though Cat Haven has sources of income within the organization and fundraising events, these are basically aimed at filling the mass gap between our income and our expenses,†she said. .
“It is only when we receive a huge influx of bequests that we are able to invest additional funds to help projects like this.”
Dogs Refuge Home Executive Director Karen Rhodes said the government’s $ 400,000 contribution would allow the shelter to demolish an old kennel built in the 1960s and rebuild a new one that will house up to 11 dogs.
“We fundraise throughout the year to cover costs, but under no circumstances can we fundraise for a kennel,†she said.
“Previously, we could only build new kennels if someone generously left us a large amount in their will. “
Mr Rhodes said heirlooms and bequests were the only other way the shelter could fund the creation of new kennels.
