Edmonton’s new animal shelter will offer everything from television sets for sheltered cats and a giant gated-off leash area for local pet owners to a dog and cat café when it officially opens to the public later this spring.
The Edmonton Humane Society says that its new $22.5-million centre, located near 134 Avenue and 163 Street, will be a “destination facility” for animals and pet owners.
“We are going to change the face of how animals are cared for in this community from an animal’s perspective,” said Steph-anie McDonald, the society’s executive director.
The state-of-the-art animal shelter will also offer a medical wing for animals, including a surgery prep area and recovery room.
The centre will also clamp down on disease prevention with a high-tech air exchange machine that will circulate air in quarantined kennels for sick animals.
Cat kennels will be equipped with skylights, outdoor patios and television monitors that will flash nurturing images to maintain a feline’s mental health.
“We have the responsibility to meet an animal’s mental health requirements,” said McDonald.
The centre will also offer summer day camps which will educate young children on how to take care of animals, and it will offer various paid services at the centre to support the shelter.
Those services include a doggie daycare, a members-only leash area that’s the size of two football fields, and rooms the society can rent out for birthday parties.
