SPCA aims to open rescue & rehab enter

Posted by Press Release on May 1, 2018

The Brandywine Valley SPCA has announced its intention to secure a currently unused animal shelter in Georgetown, Del., to serve as a rescue and rehab center. The center will enable the BVSPCA, which has a 96 percent live release rate, to save even more lives by helping animals otherwise on the fringe of adoption reach.

“Saving as many lives as possible means giving hope to animals who need more help than typical adoption candidates – cruelty survivors, disaster victims, newborns and infants, animals at risk in other shelters, and those requiring time and training to increase their adoptability,” said Adam Lamb, BVSPCA Chief Executive Officer. “The rescue and rehab center will expand our lifesaving resources to those animals with greater needs while allowing our three regional campuses to focus on finding homes for less complex cases and the rehabilitated graduates from the Rescue & Rehab Center.”

Animals in the BVSPCA’s care average a 13-day stay. Those with greater needs to be ready for successful placement can require up to 10 months of rehabilitation. “On average, we find it requires six weeks to provide the nutritional, medical and socialization care for animals that we would consider rescue and rehab candidates,” said Lamb.

The new center would also enable the BVSPCA to increase its support to its national partners. This would be in response to increasing requests for the organization’s assistance with larger scale transports of at-risk animals, emergency response during natural disasters, and complex cruelty cases.

The proposed location for the center is an 11,500 square foot facility set on 13 acres off Shingle Point Road in Georgetown that will be sold at auction on June 9. Formerly known as Safe Haven, the building can house more than 2000 animals per year. The facility has been empty since 2013.

The BVSPCA seeks the public’s assistance by pledging funding for the auction and subsequent repairs at the abandoned facility. Donations and pledges can be made at www.bvspca.org/rescue-rehab or by mail to: Brandywine Valley SPCA, 1212 Phoenixville Pike, West Chester, PA 19380. Donors with questions may contact Adam Lamb, BVSPCA CEO, at 302-387-0099.