Northern Animals Rescue and Sanctuary in New Liskeard reached out on social media August 1 in crisis mode.
"We actually won't be able to keep our doors open much longer," the online post stated.
"Although the community and our volunteers have been amazing, we lack the help from the city and adjoining towns and townships."
Responses to the post included offers to help financially, to adopt a pet, or to join the fundraising committee, but several of the respondents forwarded the post to the attention of the City of Temiskaming Shores.
Board member Shannon Mason says that the rent at the facility on Armstrong Street in Temiskaming Shores was due and the funds were not available. She said, though, that the volunteers were advised of the problem before it went out on social media, and volunteers were scrambling to attempt to raise the funds to pay the rent.
In a telephone interview, Mason said the sanctuary was "hanging on but coming to a point where they don't have a choice but to close."
She said the animal sanctuary faces constant high bills that have to be paid. When donations come in to pay the bills, new bills are immediately added on.
Fundraising efforts often cost the volunteers more than they bring in. Hidden Treasures, a store of donated goods that used to generate revenue, also has a rental fee attached to it, so Mason questions whether it brings in any more than it costs.
Vet bills are high, and animals are being brought into the sanctuary from the city and from surrounding townships, she said. Animals found in locations throughout Temiskaming - from Temagami north to Englehart - may end up being dropped off at the centre, she continued. When the animal shelters in Kirkland Lake and Quebec are full, the shelter gets the overflow.
"We don't get any money to do this," Mason said of the overall service.
SPAYED AND NEUTERED
The shelter takes responsibility for the animals that get surrendered into their care, meaning that they resolve to have the pet vaccinated and spayed or neutered before they fully release it. Currently, the shelter has about 50 dogs and 40 cats in its care, although some are in foster settings.
The facility is completely run by volunteers.
"Every day we have people who go in to look after the dogs and cats and it's basically a work schedule," said Mason.
"We struggle every day because people have jobs on top of this and they have lives."
Air conditioning was recently installed in the building. Maintenance of rooms where the animals are housed, or fencing, is also a steady requirement, she continued.
"We're constantly repairing stuff."
She said requests for help for those tasks are frequently made by reaching out online.
"We do have a few volunteers who are pretty handy but that's them taking time to do that."
The veterinarian costs are never-ending.
"The vets are great," she noted. "They do what they can to help us."
Twice monthly a run is made to North Bay with a group of dogs to get them spayed or neutered. That alone has a cost of $2,500 a trip, she said.
She outlined that in an ideal situation, the sanctuary would have enough money to keep the veterinary bills down, which would mean a fund of at least $6,000 a month. As well, it would be ideal to have paid staff at the site, she added.
"We would love to have a lottery license, which we can't seem to get, so we could hold more fundraising," she also noted.
Funding from the municipalities is also needed, she said.
"I feel like the city should need something like this. This could be the facility, but we need their help." Help from other municipalities is also needed, she added.
Darlene Wroe is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with the Temiskaming Speaker. LJI is funded by the Government of Canada.
