The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA) is bringing a first-of-its-kind facility to Vancouver Island.
A new centre in Duncan will be home to an animal behaviour centre. It will be at the site of their current facility, which is nearing the end of its useful life, at almost 30 years old.
BC SPCA Senior Manager of Vancouver Island and Coastal BC, Leon Davis says it will serve as a rehab facility of sorts for animals whose behaviour is a barrier to adoption.
“[The focus of the facility is] to have a dedicated centre which will have trained professionals and staff there dedicated to just focusing on helping these animals come along in their behaviour plans, to get them further along in their pathways, and to get them into their homes quicker,” says Davis.
He says the need is there as an increase in fearfulness and anxiety in the dogs and cats that make their way through their doors.
“Over the years, we’re seeing more and more animals coming in with behavioural issues,” he says. “Shelters are extremely busy places and the amount of time that we’d like to spend working on these behavioural issues is not what we would love.”
He hopes the new model is one that other organizations under Humane Canada will consider adopting.
“We know that this will be successful because the one hurdle that we’ve had is getting the animals that consistent attention that they need in these [behaviour] plans throughout the day,” says Davis. “To be a guinea pig model for other organizations to look at and maybe duplicate would be amazing.”
The building is still in the planning stages, but they hope construction will be in mid-to-late 2024, with completion in 2025 or 2026. They’re still planning on how to avoid service disruption to the Cowichan Valley during construction.
