As its 50th anniversary nears, the Cayman Islands Humane Society is grappling with the same rising costs of living that are impacting all the islands’ residents, businesses and charities.
While a new shelter is on the horizon, the Humane Society, and the many animals it cares for, remain housed in an ageing building on North Sound Road, which is prone to flooding and subject to all the other challenges older wooden structures face.
Currently, for example, it’s dealing with a big bill for electrical work at the shelter.
Samantha Cooper, operations manager at the Humane Society, told the Compass this week, “Bills have gone up. We have had some extra expenses because we’ve had to do some work to keep the current shelter running. There is some electrical work still ongoing, that’s been one of the big expenses. We had to make it safe. It would have been a risk to the animals.”
She added, “We’re always in need of funds. Right, now, with the cost of living, our utility bills are going up, food is more expensive.”
She said the shelter is now at “absolutely maximum capacity”, and recently, in one single day, took in 12 cats.
While a larger new shelter will certainly help alleviate the pressure on the charity, at least in terms of space, it is likely to be two to three years before that will be open and operational.
In March this year, the Central Planning Authority granted permission for the new animal shelter to be built on a 15-acre plot off Reginald Parsons Drive in West Bay. That shelter will include an in-house veterinary surgery, outdoor recreational areas and a dog-walking trail.
“It’s moving forward,” Cooper said. “We’ve got planning permission, we’re doing construction drawings and engineering planning. Then, that has to go to Planning and to the Building Control Unit to be signed off. We’re working through that process.”
To try to make a major push in fundraising to help keep the existing shelter operating and meet the expenses it is facing, the Humane Society has launched a big fundraising effort, putting on a sale of 2,000 raffle tickets, at a cost of $100 each. The draw, with a first prize of $50,000, a second prize of $5,000 and a third prize of $2,500, will be held on 30 Oct.
Cooper said tickets are available for purchase at www.caymanhumane.org/raffle and can also be found on sale at various outlets across Cayman, including outside A. L. Thompson’s and Cost-U-Less on Saturday, 23 Sept.; Foster’s Countryside on Monday, 25 Sept. and Saturday, 30 Sept.; and Hurley’s on Friday, 6 Oct. and Saturday, 14 Oct.
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