Peterborough, ON (December 23, 2019) – A generous donation of $25,000 by David and Patricia Morton towards the Our Pet Project Campaign, is the latest in a series of recent donations to help fund the construction of the new Peterborough Animal Care Centre. A first-of-its-kind in Canada, the regional Centre will be home to the Peterborough Humane Society’s Adoption & Education Centre, Regional Spay and Neuter Clinic and the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society’s Provincial Dog Rehab Centre.

The Mortons are well-known in the Peterborough community. David is a former president and CEO of the Quaker Oats Company, while Patricia is a published author and Trent Professor Emeritus. They are passionate about Peterborough and the Kawarthas and generously support many projects and causes to uplift those that are most vulnerable in our community.

“We are pleased to support the Our Pet Project campaign, and to truly make it OUR Pet Project! As animal lovers, we recognize the wide scope and value of this new Centre, including education on how to properly care for our beloved pets who contribute so much to our lives,” says Patricia Morton.

Our Pet Project has built momentum over the last year, securing over $6.57 million of the $10 million required to build the new Centre, which will be located at 1999 Technology Drive (directly across from Siemens).

The Centre is set to be a game-changer for animal welfare in Ontario and will put Peterborough and the Kawarthas on the map through the services that will be offered. Among others, the Spay and Neuter Clinic will provide accessible spay/neuter surgery services for up to 5,000 pets each year, and draw families from across the region, boosting tourism as people spend their day at local restaurants and shops, as they wait for their pet to recover from surgery.

The Peterborough Humane Society was established in 1941, and the current shelter at 385 Lansdowne St East was built in 1956 as a “pound”, a temporary holding space. While the current site has served the community well for the last 63 years, animal welfare has evolved significantly, rendering the current facility inadequate for the level of care needed for the thousands of pets they care for each year. In the new, purpose-built facility animals will have more room and will experience less noise and stress, thereby reducing anxiety and setting them up for a greater opportunity to meet their perfect family.

“In addition to what this Centre will do for lost and homeless pets, we are so pleased to see that it has green initiatives to mitigate the Centre’s impact on the environment. It will be a truly modern building that takes animals’ and people’s well-being and our environment into account,” Patricia Morton states.

Both Patricia and David Morton are passionate advocates for the environment, and with their group For Our Grandchildren they successfully convinced Peterborough City Council to enact a Declaration of Climate Emergency last September.

Lead Architect, Michael Gallant of Lett Architects and his team, designed the building to limit its energy usage, reduce its carbon footprint and works towards environmental sustainability. Key aspects of the future-ready design include:

• An energy recovery ventilator as part of the hospital-grade HVAC system that captures and recycles air to minimize energy loss while maintaining optimal air exchanges for infection control;
• Solar-readiness, which means the building will be set up to easily add solar panels adjacent to the Centre and provide renewable energy sources in the years to come; and
• Two water retention ponds that will capture rain water and prevent flooding and run off into the adjacent wetland.

“The new Centre will sit on 20 acres land along Technology Drive, and will conserve 12 acres of provincially significant wetlands, provide walking trails and public greens space to inspire our community to value our natural surroundings. The building will be equipped with safe spaces for bicycles and showers to encourage staff and volunteers to bike or walk to the Centre. It is also on a bus route with a bus stop directly across from our Centre’s main entrance to decrease staff, volunteer and visitor reliance on cars and fossil fuels,” says Alex Tindale, Campaign Manager.

The Peterborough Animal Care Centre will integrate three centres under one roof, offering the community holistic services and space for educational and advocacy programming. This building could be three separate buildings, and consume many more resources; however, its unique focus on collaboration with partners such as the Ontario SPCA and others, makes it not only innovative but efficient.