By Jarrod Burton
The Dogs’ Refuge Home in Shenton Park has taken a major step to modernise its facilities with the opening of an Adoption and Education Centre.
The new building includes a new reception area for the public, an education centre for holding events and workshops and private rooms for carrying out the adoption process with potential dog owners.
“We had a real need to have a presence around educating the community about responsible dog ownership, and a facility where we could do that,” said the Dogs’ said Judy Flanagan, Manager of the Refuge Home.
The new building was funded by Lotterywest, which provided the Dogs’ Refuge Home with a $1.1 – million grant to help complete the project.
Judy Flanagan and the team at the Dogs’ Refuge Home are all passionate about animals and thier welfare.
The Education Centre is available for other charity groups, including the Cat Haven and RSPCA, to use for meetings and educational events.
“I think it’s really fantastic, it is really generous to offer us the chance to take advantage of these facilities, especially the education room,” said Cat Haven Marketing Manager Chandra Woodley.
“Now we can hold community meetings such as educational events for those who are living in industrial areas, where a large number of stray cats are often found,” said Mrs Woodley.
Despite receiving government funding to maintain their operations, the Dogs’ Refuge Home still needs the support of donations to cover costs.
“We get a $75,000 community grant from the government, but that’s the only public funding we get, the rest we have to raise and we need to find $1.2-million dollars a year to survive,” said Mrs Flanagan.
After the successful launch of their new Adoption and Education Centre, the Dogs’ Refuge Home will continue to improve and modernise its facilities, beginning stage four of their redevelopment master plan over the next year.
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