The Michigan Humane Society recently broke ground on a state-of-the-art animal care center in Detroit.
The new facility will offer improved animal housing, expanded veterinary and rehabilitation services, a home for its cruelty investigation and rescue operations, and a community dog park.
"This facility is going to do an incredible amount for the city, both the citizens and the animals. Animal welfare is not just an animal issue. It's a community issue," said Matthew Pepper, MHS president and CEO. "This is a quality-of-life issue. This is our commitment to the City and the animals we share it with."
Pepper said economic problems contribute to people having to give up their pets, and a goal is to keep pets with their owners. "We actually have a considerable focus on pet retention – both through education, through resources that we can provide," he said. "Obviously our veterinary services can play a big part in that."
Pepper said it will cost $15.5 million to build the new 34,000-square-foot center. He said $9 million has already been raised from foundations and private individuals, including a $2 million lead gift from the Dresner Foundation which MHS announced this week.
MHS currently shelters and cares for more than 15,000 animals each year in a 100-year-old building which no longer meets its needs.
– Virginia Gordan, Michigan Radio Newsroom
