New facility to help save animals thanks to timely loan
Staff and volunteers at Angel Paws have been inundated with calls for help due to the cost of living crisis, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel.
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A dream seven years in the making is now one major step closer to a reality for Angel-Paws.
The charitable organisation, which works to foster and re-home animals has bought new premises for usage as animal rescue, adoption and a boarding home.
General Manager Larissa Huxley said the not-for-profit animal welfare group had struggled to keep up with demand as the cost of living crisis continues to hamper their ability to safely re-home animals.
“In the past year alone, Angel-Paws Inc has helped to foster and re-home more than 1,200 animals. Sadly, we simply haven’t been able to keep up with demand and it’s been absolutely heartbreaking to have to turn animals away due to a lack of suitable foster carers and space,” Ms Huxley said.
“The new Townsville Pet Rescue by Angel-Paws will allow us to help more animals while taking some of the burden off existing foster carers and volunteers.”
Ms Huxley said the new facilities, that will allow them to house 60 dogs and 30 cats at any given time, would be a ‘game-changer’ for the organisation and their supporters.
“It is only through the hard work and dedication of our tireless volunteers, the generosity of community donations, sponsorship and the gift of bequests that we are in a position to secure a loan for this new facility,” Ms Huxley said.
CEO Clayton Cook said that the repayments on the loan taken out for the new facility will cost thousands of dollars each month, and volunteers and donations will still be essential to ensuring the facility can remain open.
“Our new boarding facilities will go a small way to helping us pay some of those costs; however, they will be heavily subsidised so we can continue to support domestic violence victims and families who are facing homelessness to keep their animals safe, as well as offering emergency and disaster accommodation for animals,” Mr Cook said.
“The new premises at Stuart are also extremely run down and will require a significant amount of work to get up and running to an appropriate standard. Included in the scope of works is the development of a quarantine area to avoid the risk of spreading unwanted diseases such as parvo virus.
“Angel-Paws Inc is putting out a call to arms to anyone in our community who can volunteer time and/or resources to help get the facility fully operational.
“Volunteers can assist with anything from cleaning out the premises, to vegetation management or basic handyperson jobs such as clearing gutters and downpipes, fixing fencing and painting.”
The new facility is planned to open in early December, but there’s still much work to be done. Anyone interested in volunteering during the drive can contact Larissa Huxley at larissa@angelpawsinc.com.au
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