Local Couple Helps Tri-CIty Animal Shelter Surgery Suite Become A Reality
Animals that check into the Tri-City Animal Shelter soon won’t have to go far for medical help. The Friends of Tri-City Animal Shelter will soon breaking ground on a much-anticipated Surgery Suite & Medical Center at the shelter in Cedar Hill.
The non-profit launched a half-million dollar capital campaign in September 2018 to renovate the old shelter facility. Its located next door to the current shelter and adoption center at 1150 E. Pleasant Run Road in Cedar Hill. The Petco Foundation, PetSmart Charities, the Joe M. and Doris R. Dealey Family Foundation and numerous individuals and businesses from the local community came together to help fund the project.
“We were nearly 80 percent of the way to reaching our fundraising goal when I received a message from a local family,” said Corey Thompson, executive director of the Friends. “I updated them on the status of the campaign, and they expressed their commitment to helping us save more lives at the animal shelter.”
Great News For The Shelter
The couple then delivered the news: they were funding the remaining $100,000 needed to launch the renovations.
“Four years ago, the Friends board members asked what the shelter truly needed in order to help more animals,” said Shelter Director Tammy Miller. “What was the one big thing that would transform our work?” Miller explained that what the Friends were already doing for the animals – spaying, neutering and providing veterinary care — was the most critical need. Her worry, though, was how to make it sustainable long-term.
“We were resolved about what needed to happen, but we were a tiny non-profit that had just hired our first employee” said board member Donna Fuller. “Building a medical center felt pretty far-fetched at the time, but here we are on the cusp of making that vision a reality.”
The Surgery Suite and Medical Center plans to open in 2020. Veterinarians will sterilize nearly 1,500 adopted animals next year. In addition they’ll work with staff to meet the medical needs of the nearly 7,000 animals that come through the shelter each year.
A Teaching Facility
A classroom is also being designed as part of the facility. It will have a large window allowing students to see into the operating room and watch surgeries.
“We have already begun conversations with some local school districts and community colleges about how we can bring CTE, STEM and veterinary technology students to the shelter to enhance their learning and train up the next generation of advocates for animals,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be a really special place for our whole community, but especially for our kids.”
Local businesses interested in being part of the renovations should contact Friends of Tri-City Animal Shelter at director@tricityfriends.org or 469-850-2287. Naming opportunities for the facility are also still available. All proceeds help to fund surgeries, medical care and educational programs in the coming year. Visit www.tricityfriends.org/campaign for more information.
The Tri-City Animal Shelter is a municipal agency serving the cities of Cedar Hill, Duncanville and DeSoto. The shelter’s mission is to provide exemplary care for impounded and unwanted animals through redemption, adoption, and public education.
Friends of Tri-City Animal Shelter is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2006. The nonprofit partners with Tri-City Animal Shelter to improve the welfare of homeless, neglected, and lost animals. For more information about Friends of Tri-City Animal Shelter, visit www.tricityfriends.org.
