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Tompkins County SPCA!

Tompkins County SPCA
1640 Hanshaw Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 257-1822
info@spcaonline.com



Why are you building a new shelter?

Why is the current shelter difficult for dogs?

Why is the current shelter difficult for cats?

What will the new shelter allow you to do?

When will you build this new shelter?

What will happen to the current shelter?

The new shelter looks fancy, isn’t that just wasteful?

I give to groups like the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA. Doesn’t that money help you?

Don’t my tax dollars support the Tompkins County SPCA?

This seems like a lot of money for an animal shelter. What are the costs involved in constructing a shelter?

Why should we care about this project when so many humans need help? Aren’t you taking money away from needy people?

HOW CAN I HELP?

Why are you building a new shelter?
  • The current shelter is antiquated and small. It is difficult to keep animals from getting sick, and even more difficult to heal them once they do.
  • Combined with cramped quarters and poor ventilation, the prevention or transmission of illnesses such as kennel cough and upper respiratory infections is a constant concern.
    • There is no space-not a single kennel-to isolate a contagious sick dog.
  • Because they are too young to be vaccinated, puppies cannot ever set foot on our kennel floor. This requires us to keep them in cages with no room to play or not enough space to be with their littermates.
  • Cats must bear the sounds of barking dogs throughout the day, and dogs must walk through the cat room to go outside.
  • Potential adopters do not have a place to sit quietly and meet individual animals.
  • Our current facility is inadequate to house all the animals we must care for. Our foster families take over 150 animals into their homes so that the animals do not have to be killed. Our new facility would relieve the pressure on our foster family volunteers by providing additional spaces for animals.
  • Much has been learned about housing animals since our current shelter was built. Cats need an environment that suits their nature by giving them opportunities to climb, exercise and associate with other cats. We currently keep them in individual cages. Dogs will benefit from a new kennel design that fits their instincts and behaviors, thereby increasing their chances for adoption even after long stays in the shelter.
Why is the current shelter difficult for dogs?
  • A kennel is a frustrating environment for a dog. In our current kennels, dogs are kept alone in extremely barren environments virtually around the clock. The dog’s urge to meet and investigate is repeatedly frustrated. When the dog finally has the opportunity to meet, his behavior is overly excited. This is off-putting to potential adopters who are likely to label a dog "hyperactive" or unmanageable rather than see the dog’s behavior as driven by the abnormal context.
  • Working with behaviorists and architects who specialize in shelter design, the goal is to build a shelter that addresses mental stimulation, access to natural light, group housing, training space, dog-dog interaction/play space, exercise space, and room to retreat.
Why is the current shelter difficult for cats?
  • The No. 1 killer of cats in our shelter is the common cold with a fancy name: upper respiratory infections. This leads to considerable expense in time and medicines to control and treat the infections. It also results in several cat deaths a year. A better environment for controlling air exchange will reduce the spread of infection.
  • The new cat areas will have 100% air exchange, access to natural light, room to climb, and independent air systems to help prevent the spread of disease.
What will the new shelter allow you to do?
  • The new shelter will allow us to provide an environment that promotes and protects the health and happiness of the animals. It will keep dogs from deteriorating in the kennels, cats from getting sick, it will allow us to save more animals, and save animals who come to us sick, injured, or traumatized.
  • Most of all, the new shelter will allow us to guarantee that no healthy or treatable dog or cat will be killed in Tompkins County--the first and only community in the nation to do so.
  • The plans for the new shelter include improved use of the associated land such as:
    • Areas to allow potential adopters to get to know their prospective pet.
    • Areas for medical care and housing, including spay/neuter.
    • Areas to allow behavior and rudimentary obedience training.
    • Areas to allow exercise for both dogs and cats.
    • A space for use for humane education and for interviewing potential adopters.
    • Space and trails to walk dogs.
When will you build this new shelter?
  • If the community supports the idea, we hope to break ground at the end of June 2003 and will have the grand opening in March 2004.
What will happen to the current shelter?
  • We will continue to use the current shelter after investing in some badly needed renovations to allow us to better control disease by isolating sick animals in a safe clean environment, take care of sick animals, and provide a more health promoting environment for both dogs and cats.
  • The current shelter will be used for animal control and intake of animals, including animals who are seized in cruelty cases, unwanted animals, lost animals during their stray period, and sick/injured animals.
The new shelter looks fancy, isn’t that just wasteful?
  • No. Working with behaviorists and architects who specialize in animal shelters, the rooms have been designed to keep pets stimulated and healthy, without much added cost than the traditional “cages and chainlink” environment of most kennels.
  • Since the animals are going to be adopted into homes and not cages, the new spaces will allow the animal to better acclimate to their new homes helping to ensure more successful adoptions.
I give to groups like the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA. Doesn’t that money help you?
  • No. We do not receive any funding or support from these national groups and they do not save Tompkins County animals. Each SPCA is an independent entity and not affiliated with national organizations. We rely on local generosity to save lives locally
Don’t my tax dollars support the Tompkins County SPCA?
  • The TC SPCA does not receive any federal or state funding. Municipalities and counties are mandated to provide dog control, which is done by contract with the TC SPCA (including to a more limited extent cat control). However, this cost only covers picking up stray dogs and holding them (and cats) for five days. It does not include the actual cost of care for the animal, veterinary care, behavior rehabilitation, spay/neuter, humane education, foster care, or any of our many other outreach and lifesaving programs.
This seems like a lot of money for an animal shelter. What are the costs involved in constructing a shelter?
  • The new shelter must be of industrial quality. Animal housing requires extensive drainage and a ventilation system with an air exchange of 12 times per hour to keep the animals healthy. In addition, equipment must be to industry standards.
  • The square foot cost of the building is the same or lower than typical construction costs in Tompkins County.
  • Operating expenses for the shelter-including spay/neuter, medical care and behavior rehabilitation-are not cheap, but they are administered on a very cost-effective basis. For example, for every $1.00 spent on spaying and neutering, close to $20 is saved in animal control costs over a ten year period because there are less unwanted cats and dogs being born that our shelter would have to care for.
Why should we care about this project when so many humans need help? Aren’t you taking money away from needy people?
  • Animals need our help too. Thankfully compassion is not limited and people can care about both people and animals.
  • Animals matter. Their lives are precious. Not only as a reflection of our own community and ourselves, but in their own right. Animals lovers believe in the work of the SPCA and want us to save lives. We intend to do so.
  • The new shelter will also allow us to help needy people--by spaying/neutering their pets at low-cost or free, by providing an option when they can no longer keep their sick or injured pet who is facing unaffordable veterinary bills without their not worrying that the pet will be killed.
  • At the SPCA, people are a pet project too. Sharing one’s life with a dog or a cat is an uplifting and rewarding experience for many. People of all ages, particularly the elderly and the young, enjoy their companionship. For single people, pets offer a welcome relief from loneliness. For children, an animal in the home contributes warmth and unconditional love, and teaches responsibility and consideration for the needs of another creature. Those who suffer from disease or injury experience a therapeutic, even spiritual, benefit from their presence. For the lonely, an animal companion provides an incentive to get up in the morning. Pets also provide a sense of safety and security, allowing many people freedom they would not otherwise have. By helping animals, we help people too.
  • According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, animal causes only get 1 penny out of every charity dollar in the U.S.-99% of all donations go to help human causes, so we receive only a small percentage of all charitable dollars.



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