A fund-raising campaign is underway in the southern Arizona city of Surprise to build a no-kill animal shelter.
The project will go up on the northwest side of the city in the North Copper Canyon community. Land for the shelter has been donated by area home builder Courtland Homes.
As envisioned, the shelter will measure between 12,000 and 15,000 square feet and will have both lobby, shelter, and care space.
The Chance Shelter organization was launched in 2015 and primarily serves as a pet foster and adoption resource, particularly sponsoring outreach and educational events at the Surprise Resource Center, located at 12425 W. Bell Road.
According to the Chance Shelter’s 2022 financial statement, it had nearly $104,000 in listed assets as of the end of last year, which won’t be enough to build a new facility.
For that reason, a fund-raising campaign is underway for the project. That campaign includes a golfing and costume event scheduled to be held in September.
The no-kill concept in animal shelter care is seeing growth across the country. According to industry statistics, no-kill facilities as recently as 2016 made up only 22% of the nation’s total animal shelters. That figure is now up to 57%.
The growth of such facilities, says the group Animal Humane Society, is a reflection of increased adoption rates nationally. According to the AHS, as adoption has become more popular with the public, shelters have been “able to gain more funding,” which, in turn, has led to the building of larger facilities and an ability to take care of cats and dogs on a longer-term basis.
Recently released figures from the Best Friends Animal Society show that the no-kill shelter movement is largely a state-by-state story. While 15 out of 15 shelters in New Hampshire are now classified as no-kill, figures show that 156 out of 366 shelters in Texas could be so classified.
In New Mexico 17 out of 44 shelters are now defined as no-kill.
No-kills shelters, not unlike conventional animal shelters, usually include space for separate cat and dog kennels, medical suites, outdoor play areas, and meeting spaces for animals and their would-be human companions.
By Garry Boulard
