Eastern Townships SPA getting ready for the big move
Geneivieve Cloutier, Spokesperson for the Eastern Townships SPA, says that the local animal protection society will be taking possession of its new shelter building on Sauvé Street at the end of this week and plans to move in gradually over the course of the following month.
“We’re going to do it carefully, and in several steps,” Cloutier said, explaining that only the very last of those steps will be moving their animals from the current shelter on Queen Victoria Street in order to help reduce the stress on the animals.
While stating that the SPA hopes to hold an official opening of the Sauvé Street shelter at the end of August, the spokesperson explained that it is important for the organization to take the time to properly settle into its new surroundings before opening to the public.
The SPA announced the intention to move to a new space at the end of 2014, explaining that the existing facilities are too small and no longer meet the needs of the organization on a number of levels. The group has been actively fundraising to help cover the cost of the relocation since that time.
The SPA suffered several delays in the renovation of their new facility. The larger, modern space was originally supposed to open in late 2017, but unexpected additional work caused that schedule to be pushed back first to this past spring, and then to the end of the summer.
With those obstacles in the past, however, the SPA spokesperson said that the whole team is looking forward to the next big step.
“Everything is going very well,” Cloutier said. “We are very excited.”