No-kill animal shelter needs $55,000 to stay open

A no-kill animal shelter in Vaudreuil-Dorion is fighting to stay alive.

The management at the West Island SPCA said they are $55,000 in debt, and need that money before the end of March to remain open.

The animal shelter opened in February 2013 with a mission not to kill any animals they rescued, however the lives of about 150 animals now hang in the balance as the shelter is on the verge of closing down.

“We're in the red and it's okay to be in the red. A non-profit is a non-profit but too far behind can also be a killer,” said Remi Brazeau, director general of the West Island SPCA.

The shelter, located on Cité des Jeunes Blvd., is hoping to raise enough money through a crowdfunding campaign to cover the deficit in their budget.

“A lot of people don't know we exist. That's okay. Let's make them aware we're here,” said Brazeau.

In the past 15 months, the shelter has found homes for over 1,100 animals.

The shelter doesn't get any government funding and relies on donations from the public to stay afloat.

“Each SPCA we're on our own. So a lot of people in the region here are giving money to the SPCA Montreal for example, just to name one, and they're not realizing that their local SPCA is not getting any,” explained Brazeau.

Because it is a no-kill shelter, the director general said operating costs are much higher.

“If it's broken, we take him to the back,” he said. “The vet comes in, we fix it. It's not sterilized, we sterilize him. Needs vaccination? You vaccinate. If it's full of parasites, you do the treatment and that takes a lot of money.”

As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, the shelter had raised over $22,000 in just 24 hours.