Building our Future

If you’ve ever visited our shelter, you will know that we have severely outgrown our current location at 36 McCurdy drive - which began construction in 1993. Our shelter is terribly cramped with cats tucked away in just about every nook and cranny. We do not have a dedicated space for adopters to meet potential family members, no place to meet with community partners or sponsors, and most importantly, no room to take in more animals in desperate need of shelter and care.

Following the Gander and Area SPCA’s inheritance of a sum of $562,00 from the late Ron and Sonya Lyttle of Traytown, NL, we began fundraising the remaining money required to build a brand-new shelter. However, the rising costs of materials trampled our dream of constructing a new building, so we switched gears and instead purchased an existing structure on Magee Road. After facing the challenges of shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have slowly but surely chipped away at the renovations required to transform our new building into a state-of-the-art animal shelter. Below is a summary of the work completed/supplies purchased for our new location thus far.

Now we are on the final stretch of the completion of our long-awaited new building, but we are not quite at the finish line yet! Shelter residents are desperate to have a bigger and brighter space to call home while they await their furever families. With the completion of the new building, we will be able to comfortably house the ever-increasing volume of animals that need our care. Our new building will provide a functional space for collaboration with community groups and sponsors alike. The “New” Gander and Area SPCA will be an inviting space where the general public can come and learn more about the important work that the SPCA does for the community (and of course cuddle some cats while they’re here).

Below is a summary of the work that is required to complete and open our new shelter – it may look daunting, but we are SO close!

We humbly ask for your support in one last push to complete our dream shelter. We graciously appreciate any and all donations to give our shelter residents the temporary home they deserve. We are a registered Canadian charity and can issue tax deductible receipts for donations of $10 or more. If you would like a receipt, please email or call the shelter (you can find our contact info online) with your mailing address and confirmation of your donation and a staff member will issue one to you!

We cannot wait to welcome you all into our new space once completed!

Framing for Dog Area
May 2024

Trim and Window Finishes
May 2024

Doors and Floors
April 2024

Ceiling and Lighting
February 2024

30 Years at 36 McCurdy Drive
January 2024

The Gander and Area SPCA has called our tiny shelter located at 36 McCurdy Drive home since 1994!
Before the construction of this shelter, the SPCA was operating out of a tiny makeshift metal shack that was far too small for the amount of animals in need at the time. In the early 90's, we knew all too well how much a proper shelter building was needed, and through dedicated fundraising efforts, the Gander and Area SPCA hosted the official grand opening of our shelter at 36 McCurdy Drive in the early days of 1994.

While these shelter walls have seen thousands of abused, neglected, abandoned, and stray animals, they have also seen thousands of animals given second chances, thousands of lost pets reunited with their owners, and thousands of animals finding their forever families.

Take a walk down memory lane and see just how much our shelter has changed over the years! Perhaps some of our earliest supporters may even remember visiting our shelter when it looked like the photos on the left!

It is easy to see why we are so desperate to complete our new shelter building. While our humble shelter at 36 McCurdy Drive has served us well for the past 3 decades, the rising needs of homeless animals in our region have outgrown this building's ability to adequately meet these needs.

With progress on our new building on Magee Road moving at full steam ahead, we are positive that this will be our last year at this little shelter! We can't think of a better way to conclude our 30th year at our old building than to thank it for its many years of service, say goodbye, and finally move into a brand new shelter that better suits the needs of our region!