SANTA MARIA VALLEY - The new Santa Maria Valley Humane Society facility on West Stowell Road will be able to take in more than double the number of adoptable dogs, triple to quadruple the number of adoptable cats and double spay-neuter services for the community.
"Members of the public and visitors are going to come in here" says Humane Society Executive Director Jill Tucker who says the new adoption and spay-neuter facility has been years in the making.
"We'll have a reception desk here, exam room over here, we're going to have some x-ray rooms and a doctor's office over here", Tucker says as she shows off the still-unfinished facility.
It will eventually replace the smaller and overcrowded Santa Maria Valley Humane Society facility on Black Road.
"We are in the home stretch in terms of getting this finished up to move in", Tucker says, "our goal is to raise the $350,000 we need to finish the inside and relocate the elements we need for our adoption and spay-neuter clinics in June of this year."
The new 16,000 square foot facility is expected to help deal with what's become a serious problem in northern Santa Barbara County, pet overpopulation.
"Sadly, more than three quarters of the animals euthanized in Santa Barbara County are from the Santa Maria area", Tucker says.
The total for the new facility is about $3.7 million with the City of Santa Maria leasing the land to the SMV Humane Society for one dollar a year.
"We have an opportunity with the right infrastructure in this community to reach "no kill" status", adds Jill Tucker about the new facility, "and that's what its all about."
The public is invited for free tours of the new Santa Maria Valley Humane Society facility on West Stowell Road Saturday, January 26, between 11am and 3pm.
