It’s no secret that the Pope Memorial SPCA is an important part of this community.
When an animal is abandoned, surrendered or lost, the staff and volunteers at the shelter are there to feed and take care of them until a new forever home – or their owner – can be found.
And if you’ve never been to the Silk Farm Road facility, you have a golden opportunity to learn all about the inner workings at the SPCA’s open house on Saturday. It’s a yearly event that allows the public to enjoy all that the shelter has to offer – and then some.
If you go in there looking for a new pet, typically you are restricted to the areas where you can see the adoptable animals and the rooms where you can visit with them one on one. But on Saturday, you can get an all-access tour of the facility, including areas that are restricted to staff and volunteers. The tours will be given every 20 minutes or so, and will really shed some light on what the SPCA does on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to open our doors and share all that we do,” said Shannon Camara, director of educational outreach.
Santa Paws will be there to take pictures with the kids for a monetary donation to Pope Memorial, and will also pose for a photo with your pet. There will be a kids’ craft area, refreshments and a chance to purchase personalized ornaments.
The open house will run from noon to 2 p.m. If you happened to see our story in our annual Guide to Gifts and Giving a few weeks back, we put the wrong date, so make sure you double check your calendar and have this event down for Saturday.
Also part of the open house is the SPCA’s wish list drive. They are always in need of supplies, from cleaning materials and paper towels to food and toys. And right now, they sure could use a little help.
“We have a full house currently. We have well over 100 animals in our care,” Camara said. “So all those items (on the wish list) are greatly needed.”
Among those 100-plus animals are cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, chinchillas and more.
“We have them all, and lots of them,” Camara said.
You don’t have to bring a donation to the open house, but it might be a good idea. This is the time of year associated with helping those in need, so pick up a toy or a roll of paper towels on your way over.
For the complete wish list, visit popememorialspca.org/wish-list. For info about the SPCA, visit popememorialspca.org.
Insider staff
