Donations help SPCA Ouest- deL’Île keep doors open
Facing imminent closure only a week ago, the SPCA Ouest-de- L’Île has since raised more than $ 60,000 to pay off debt and keep its doors open.
“Morale had been down,” said director general Rémi Brazeau from of his office in the Vaudreuil- Dorion shelter, his year- old king shepherd, Buddy, by his side.
“After all the blood and sweat put into this, it’s almost like a second home for many of our volunteers. They love to see the result, to see animals fixed up, saved and adopted. And all of a sudden this dream was about to disappear,” he said, stopping for a second to gather himself, admittedly a little tired after the whirlwind of last week.
“I have goosebumps just talking about it,” he added.
Brazeau said he could tell the goal that was set —$ 55,000 — was going to be reached only two days after launching the online fundraising campaign.
“I can’t thank the public enough,” he said, “it’s hard to explain the feeling, it’s as if you were looking at this big concrete wall, and all of a sudden a door appears in it.”
More important, he said, it was a sign that people believed in the no- kill centre’s mission. The money gives the shelter a new lease on life of sorts, much like it gives the animals it takes in.
Brazeau and others opened the SPCA in 2013 after witnessing his wife take in a few animals at home, fixing them up and finding them new homes.
Now 51 years old, after a life spent in the construction business, he says he never expected to be doing this at his age, but seeing those first few animals saved gave him “a different kind of energy.”
Ever since, it’s been seven days a week at the SPCA, trying to grow the shelter both physically — the building was empty when acquired, renovations to its dog enclosures are still ongoing — and in the minds of the public around it.
Brazeau said that he underestimated how much no- kill centres need to rely on the public’s support to keep going.
Veterinarian bills, medication for the animals, rent, operating expenses, all of it together left the SPCA in the hole it found itself last week He estimated the average cost of each cat that comes in is roughly $ 100, if it's not sick, which they often are. The cost doubles for dogs.
Last year it took in 1,125 animals, and in 2015 . Brazeau said he plans on seeing that number reach more than 2,000.
The money raised will pay off the debt this week, he said, and the shelter will work on finding a more balanced budget with more monthly. donations going forward. The key in keeping it going
now is to find more supporters while continuing to raise awareness.
One of the most encouraging parts of the money raised last week, Brazeau added, is that nearly 70 per cent of the 1,600 people who donated said they didn’t even know the shelter existed before.
“It’s not because we raised $ 60,000 that it’s no longer an uphill battle,” he said. “It always will be, it is in every no- kill shelter around the world. But with more public support, we won’t be in same position next year.”