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Air Date: October 7, 2022 10:00 am
Move-in day at the Copeland Center for Animal Welfare in New Castle, Del. (Courtesy of Brandywine Valley SPCA)
It’s a new day for shelter pets in Delaware.
The Brandywine Valley SPCA on Wednesday officially opens its nearly 20,000-square-foot facility in New Castle, designed to help more animals than ever before.
The three-acre site includes a medical center, an adoption center, and a community center.
“Our goal with this new facility was to meet the increasing needs for services in this community while creating a fun and inviting space for our adopters, clients, volunteers, and staff,” said Adam Lamb, BVSPCA CEO. “Visitors are welcomed through whimsically designed spaces to choose a dog or cat to join their family, to reunite with a lost pet, or to get affordable veterinary care for their family pet.”
The medical center will also be able to provide preventative care and treatment for family pets. It will include Delaware’s first Intensive Care Unit for shelter pets, a rarity at shelters around the region. “We’re especially excited about the ICU so we can treat critically ill dogs and cats from all our locations more efficiently and cost-effectively,” Lamb said.
The site’s community center will allow the shelter to expand its humane education efforts for groups, which has been limited by the smaller size of its previous location.
“Our mission is not just to be there for animals but to involve people in improving the lives of animals,” Lamb said. “For example, programs for kids like our summer day camp, birthday parties, and junior volunteering help teach compassion and responsible animal care at an early age.”
The expanded space will also create more comfortable lodging for animals. Dogs will be able to take part in playgroups held in six outdoor play yards. Capacity for cats has doubled, with adoptable cats kept in one of three free-roaming cat rooms, plus an outdoor “catio.” Individual cat condos will also be used for cats who prefer to live alone.
BVSPCA purchased the site, which had formerly been a veterinary specialty care center, in 2020. After $7 million in investments from private donors and grants, the Copeland Center for Animal Welfare is named in honor of Tatiana Copeland, a long-time advocate for animals.
BVSPCA also has adoption centers in Dover, Georgetown, West Chester, and Plymouth Meeting.
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