Help Us Complete the New Kennels!
Providence Animal Center has big plans to renovate the current kennels that were originally designed in the 1930s. Keeping up with the kennels is like chasing your tail – the walls continue to crumble, the fences continue to rust and the ceiling continues to leak.
Kennel Renovations
Because of a generous lead gift from the Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt Charitable Trust, based in Long Island, NY, we are able to begin renovations to modernize the most glaring need: our dog kennels. While the kennels have had minor renovations over the years to maintain their function, they are well beyond their years of adequate utilization.
Extensive planning has been ongoing over a period of months in terms of design and budget for the proposed kennel reconstruction in an attempt to bring this aged component of the facility up to current standards. Updates to the kennels are critical for the Center from the standpoint of animal welfare, to enhance the dog adoption experience and, most importantly, to save as many lives as possible.
The kennel renovations will provide the following lifesaving changes:
- 48 upgraded kennels representing more than 5,000 square feet of space
- Larger interior quarters
- Radiant-heated floors
- Improved ventilation
- Higher-value acoustics to reduce noise
- Improved sight lines that reduce the dogs’ exposure to the many distractions surrounding them
- Higher ceilings with skylights to bring in natural day light
- Wider aisles between the rows of kennels will afford greater maneuverability for potential adopters and staff as well as improved sanitary conditions.
- Two indoor play areas to provide the dogs with spaces for interaction and light exercise during periods of inclement weather
- The current sloped ramp in the kennels will be leveled to provide surer footing and better accessibility to the animals.
The 18-month construction project will be accomplished in two phases to alleviate as much disruption and inconvenience to the animals and staff as possible. Phase 1 is almost completed.
Download the Case for Support documents below for more info:
Completed Projects
Phase 1
Phase 1 included the construction of the Services Support Building, part of which provided a swing space during the other phases of the project. This building permanently houses a staff and volunteer community space, a multipurpose space, a Behavior & Training Center, a laundry room, and now houses our Wellness Clinic! The space provides an environment in which our dedicated team of staff members and more than 200 volunteers now conduct their support work in surroundings that reflect their commitment to Providence Animal Center’s lifesaving mission.
Phase 2
Phase 2 included a new Medical Building, which increased access to innovative, leading-edge medical and surgical care. Our medical team provides superior veterinary care at an affordable cost. Formerly, we were presented with the opportunity to do more and save more lives on a daily basis, but were constrained by the size of our surgical area, so the surgery suite was restructured and enlarged three times its previous size to respond to the growing demand for our high-quality, low-cost services. Thanks to generous donors, we upgraded and purchased new equipment including surgery tables, anesthetic equipment, diagnostic tools and improved lighting to perform our lifesaving work more effectively and efficiently. In addition, the Medical Building also includes proper admitting space and isolation areas to contain highly contagious infectious diseases, such as parvovirus and ringworm, as well as a nursery for mom animals and their babies.
Phase 3-4
Providence Animal Center takes great pride in our customer service. The expansion of the existing cramped quarters in our Adoption Center will allow us to provide an enhanced experience for our adoptive families. The building’s front “customer experience” space will include a renovated and expanded adoption lobby to streamline the process for adoptions, a Providence Animal Center store, an enlarged cat room and modern customer restrooms. A second floor is being added to include offices for the staff who support our adoption processes as well as an administrative suite to accommodate our accounting, finance, fundraising, community relations and volunteer management operations.
Support
The Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt Charitable Trust
Significant strides are being made to transform our outdated facilities into a proper reflection of our life-affirming mission. We are so excited to announce an incredibly generous donation of $500,000 recently made by The Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt Charitable Trust that helped pave the way for our final phase of transformation – a complete kennel renovation.
The trustees of The Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt Charitable Trust, located on Long Island, were introduced to the structural changes aimed to transform our kennels by way of a deeply rooted relationship with our former Executive Director, Richard Matelsky.
Through hands-on philanthropy, the late Elisabeth “Babette” Lewyt’s commitment to life-affirming rescue, and her husband Alex’s appreciation for his wife’s humanitarianism, The Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt Charitable Trust has made an everlasting impression on the animal welfare community, companion animals’ lives and the organizations that care for them.
Once presented with our kennel plan, it was clear that our efforts to expand upon our top-quality care were directly in line with the core values of the Trust whose mission was built around the words of Mr. Lewyt himself, “My wife adores animals, and I adore my wife.”
Pictured from L to R: Alex Lewyt and Elisabeth Lewyt
Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation
With deep gratitude, we salute the Dietrich W. Botstiber Foundation, located in Media, for its magnificent contribution of $500,000 to Providence Animal Center's Building a Forever Future capital campaign. At its completion in summer 2017, The Botstiber Pavilion will be the site of Providence's expanded, modernized Adoption Center that will serve both to streamline the adoption process for companion animals and provide an enhanced experience for our adoptive families, visitors, staff and volunteers.
Pictured from L to R: Jo-Ann Zoll, Providence Animal Center Board President, Terrance A. Kline, Botstiber Foundation Administrator, Bob Linn, Linn Architects, building architect, Richard Matelsky, Providence Animal Center Executive Director ‘10-17, Jeffry Cadorette, Providence Animal Center Building Committee Member, Mary V.Z. Wachterhauser, Botstiber Foundation Advisory Board Member
Petco Foundation
In the best charitable spirit, the Petco Foundation supports animal welfare organizations throughout the country in its commitment to creating a lifesaving nation. Providence Animal Center has enjoyed a close partnership with Petco for over a decade. Recently, the Petco Foundation made two grants totaling $325,000 to the Center's Building a Forever Future capital campaign. In gratitude for the Foundation's generosity, the Cat Intake Room in Admissions and the Adoption Center Lobby and Customer Service Desk will be dedicated to the Petco Foundation.
Pictured from L to R: Richard Matelsky, Providence Animal Center Executive Director ‘10-17, John Zengel, Upper Darby Petco Manager, Jo-Ann Zoll, Providence Animal Center Board President