The Victoria Humane Society says a $2-million donation announced this week will allow the group to purchase land for a new facility to help animals needing rescue and adoption.
The site for the facility is a 15-hectare parcel in a rural area on the border of Langford and Metchosin.
Craig Mearns, a former North Saanich councillor and retired businessman who made the donation along with the Mearns Family Foundation, called the society “a small group doing great things with very little resources.”
“They needed a permanent place and I wanted to help with that,” Mearns said at an announcement at the Inn at Laurel Point. “What the Victoria Humane Society does for animals is worth investing in and the money stays here on the Island. It does not go to a head office somewhere.”
In 2005, Mearns’ family donated $5 million to the University of Victoria to create the W.C. Mearns Centre for Learning in memory of his father, who was part of the effort to establish the Gordon Head campus.
He has also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
Marie Zirk, a volunteer on the Victoria Humane Society’s board, said the group has launched a capital campaign to collect funds to construct the centre, which the society hopes to have completed next year.
Work has begun on the design, which will include a large field for dogs to have a safe outdoor space for dealing with behavioural issues.
“Most of the dogs we get have come from traumatic and neglectful situations,” said Penny Stone, the society’s executive director.
The society said it faces “the heartbreaking reality” of turning away five to seven dogs in need of help every day for lack of space to house them while their behavior is assessed so they can be matched with the right foster or adoptive homes.
“Many of these dogs need time to decompress, and some require rehabilitation and training before they can be placed in loving homes,” the society said in a statement.
Space is also at a premium because the society accepts transfers from remote communities and brings in as many as 70 animals at one time, it said.
While puppies, cats and kittens can often go directly into foster care, older dogs are left behind due to potential behavioral issues that need to be assessed, the society said.
“These older dogs deserve a chance, and the new facility will enable VHS to provide them with the care and evaluation they need.”
Stone said that the area is currently in the worst situation she has ever seen with animal rescue.
She said she deals with many smaller rescue organizations and they are all struggling to deal with the number of animals needing help.
Part of the problems stems from the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
“All the animals that didn’t get spayed and neutered during COVID have multiplied exponentially, so there’s hundreds and hundreds of animals now that we need to deal with who are still having babies.”
The society also hears all the time from people moving or downsizing who say they can’t keep their pet, Stone said.
Founded in 2013, the Victoria Humane Society is funded by grants and donations and has never had more than two paid staff, it said.
Anyone who wants to contribute to the fundraising campaign can go to buildinglove.ca.
The society recognized the Mearns gift Tuesday night at its fundraising event A Fetching Ball, also at the Inn at Laurel Point.
It featured the Man & His Dog Fashion Show, with both human and canine models.
