Pet Save launches 'Buy a Brick' campaign to finish its new shelter Sudbury

Pet Save in Sudbury tells CTV News it is having a hard time keeping up with the demand – between surrenders, caring for sick cats and dogs and finding homes for abandoned or unwanted pets.

The local organization is in the process of building a new shelter to meet the growing demand and is reaching out to the community with a ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign to finish the project which has seen costs soar and several delays related to the pandemic.

The new build is a new state-of-the-art shelter with its own on-site veterinary clinic.

The building will also equipped with an extensive ventilation system to better deal with respiratory outbreaks – a big issue in shelters.

"Having the three separate levels ventilated separately plus isolation rooms our air quality in here will be excellent," said the non-profit’s director Jill Pessot.

“We will be able to contain our outbreaks and sick animals better.”

Staff said the project is 80 per cent complete but it needs to raise another $100,000 due to soaring construction supply costs and pandemic related delays.

"I mean we didn't see the pandemic coming so certainly we were affected by that,” said Pessot.

“The length of our project has doubled, the cost of our project has doubled – it's almost $900,000 to complete the project.”

She said it has become a long and challenging process.

“We are nearing the end and we see the light so we are very happy about that," said Pessot.

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Donors who give $50 or more to the ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign will have their name on a donor wall in the new shelter.

"We are very excited to move into our new building,” said Pessot.

“It's going to be a safe building. It's got double the space which is certainly needed after COVID," said Pessot.

Officials with the rescue said the requests to surrender are up 60 per cent and they can only meet half of that given the current shelter space.

Staff said they are hopeful the new shelter will open before Christmas.