James Island – It was an exciting day for both the animals and the people of the Lowcountry. Pet Helpers Rescue and Adoption Shelter, currently located at 1430 Folly Road held the groundbreaking for its new, state-of-the art adoption and spay/neuter center.
The new building will be built across the street at 1447 Folly Road and is anticipated to be completed in late November or early December of 2007. Mayors Joseph Riley, Harry Hallman, and Carl Beckmann were in attendance to show their support for the new adoption facility and to recognize the achievement of President Carol Linville along with Pet Helpers’ dedicated Board of Directors and staff.
‘This is an exciting day for Pet Helpers as we break ground on this new adoption and spay/neuter facility,” said Carol Linville, “This new facility will better house the animals that come to us for a ‘new leash on life.’ Our goal is to collaborate with other shelters and lead Charleston into becoming a ‘no more homeless pets’ community; where no adoptable pet ever has to be euthanized. It is being done in other cities and with community support, commitment and involvement, we CAN do it here!” added Linville.
Pet Helpers was able to purchase the lad four years ago for its new site, but has had to continue to raise money to begin work on the project due to soaring costs of new construction, particularly after Hurricane Katrina. Currently, the cost of the building is projected to be $6.1 million dollars.
“We need the community’s support to help us raise the balance of what we need to build this facility. There are many naming opportunities still available. We invite you all to dig in and help us build this new shelter, where all pets are kept until they are adopted.”
Pet Helpers has raised a portion of this amount, which will allow the center to be built in two phases. Phase One of the future 14,000 square foot state-of-the-art shelter will include 5,200 square feet of space for our adoption center and 2,000 square feet for the spay and neuter clinic. This will leave approximately 6,800 square feet to be completed in Phase Two of the project.
Pet Helpers Executive Director Suzanne Carr is very excited about the new building as it will allow Pet Helpers to make further strides in ending the pet overpopulation problem in the Lowcountry. “This incredible new facility will allow us to offer an aggressive spay/neuter program. Though we already offer assistance to low income families through our low cost spay/neuter assistance program. We will now be able to offer spay and neuters at our facility. We anticipate this making a huge difference in the number of unwanted pets since the top two reason people do not have their animals spayed or neutered are money and lack of accessibility to a veterinarian.” said Carr.
Pet Helpers Treasurer, Diane Straney added, “We cannot adopt our way o ut of the pet overpopulation problem. This clinic is an important part to ending this problem.” Carr ended by saying, “We are thrilled with the turnout for our groundbreaking. We are very blessed at Pet Helpers to have so much community support. By working with people, implementing life saving programs, and truly treating each life as precious, Pet Helpers can transform our community!”
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