"Seeing it on the property gives us a boost", animal shelter building now in place

The Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue has some exciting news to share. 

Board Member Graham Pollock says they are one step closer to having an actual animal shelter to call home. 

“Our building was constructed as ready-to-move construction. The builder completed that phase of it last week and the movers moved the building onto the site, onto our basement that had been prepared a couple of weeks previous. Now it's sitting on the property, and it looks like the real thing.” 

Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue’s new home will be along Keating Road in Steinbach. Up until this point, Pollock says they have been operating exclusively out of their own homes and foster homes and it will be amazing to have a dedicated shelter. 

“There's still work to be done inside, the finishing part of it and cupboards installed and the plumbing finished and the electrical all put in. We're still a ways away I think, a couple of months away but just seeing it on the property gives us a boost. It's really happened, it's here and it's been a long time coming.” 

Photo credit: Mark's RTM's Facebook

When the new facility finally opens, Pollock says they will need plenty of volunteers to step up and help out.  

“There's the animal care side of things, coming and helping out with the kennels, taking the dogs out for a walk, and a little bit of grooming. With the cats, it's feeding and playing with the kittens. All that animal care is one side of it, but then there's also shelter maintenance and customer service, helping around the shelter on a daily basis.” 

He adds “there are so many areas that people can step up and help.” 

In getting ready for this process, Pollock says the Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue team visited the Pembina Valley Humane Society and spent a few hours with their staff to get an idea of what it is like to run a shelter. He notes it was an eye-opening experience that will certainly help. 

Though it may still be a few months before they are operational, Pollock says they will begin looking for volunteers shortly. 

“Hopefully by the time we're ready to open up and be fully operational, we'll have a list of people there that are willing to step up and help us on a volunteer basis.” 

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, SteinbachOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the SteinbachOnline app.