New animal rehab facility to open in 2019
Story Location:
19022 shingle point road
georgetown, DE 19947
United States
The rainy, chilly weather may have made for a dog of a day, but nearly 200 people made their way to Brandywine Valley SPCA’s new rescue and rehabilitation facility Sept. 9 to see where Cape Region dogs and cats will get a new lease on life.
The Georgetown facility, due to open early next year, will provide space to prepare animals with behavior problems or a history of cruelty to be adopted. In June, Brandywine Valley SPCA purchased the former Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary on Shingle Point Road at auction for $880,000.
Director of Operations Walter Fenstermacher said Brandywine Valley SPCA has raised about $900,000, enough to finalize the purchase of the property, but the goal is to raise the $1.4 million needed to complete renovations of the building.
“This building is going to increase the life-saving capacity in Delaware. It’s going to focus on the animals that are at risk,” Fenstermacher said.
Brandywine Valley has cleaned up the property, abandoned by Safe Haven in November 2013 and tied up in Safe Haven’s bankruptcy until June 2017. The layout of the building will remain largely the same, with cats on one side and dogs on the other. The facility comes with four kennels, one that Fenstermacher said would be used for dogs with medical issues. In the rear of the building is a loading area and medical facility.
Fenstermacher said the building’s infrastructure must be improved.
“The drain systems outside were really not up to snuff,” he said. “The HVAC system and the electrical system, after years of being vacant, need to be upgraded.”
While Brandywine Valley plans to continue to offer adoptions at its Georgetown facility off Route 113, Fenstermacher said, as many as 2,000 animals could be housed at the Shingle Point Road center with room for expansion in the future. The 11,000-square-foot building stands on 13 acres of land.
Despite the needed upgrades, Fenstermacher and Brandywine Valley SPCA CEO Adam Lamb both said the organization is excited about the building’s potential.
“It’s a state-of-the-art facility. It’s one-of-a-kind in our area,” Fenstermacher said.
Lamb said, “It’s so exciting for us. We’re going to be able to take this facility and put it to good use. Seeing the community support today is the best thing ever.”
