Q Commercial are proud to be involved with the construction and delivery of SPCA's brand new West Auckland facility in Hobsonville.

A new centre in Hobsonville will help the SPCA to help a lot more animals, says SPCA general manager of the northern region, Jen Radich.

Located on Rawiri Place, near Hobsonville Primary School and the Upper Harbour Motorway, the new centre will act as a satellite site to the main SPCA Animal Village in Mangere and is scheduled for completion by December. The new centre will provide adoption space for 30-40 cats and kittens, six adoption pens for adult dogs and three for puppies. There will be an outdoor exercise area and the centre’s proximity to a local reserve will also allow dogs to be exercised on leashes. The centre will also act as a base for an SPCA inspectorate team. Jen says the aim is for the centre to be self-sustaining and a doggy daycare centre is part of the mix to help generate funds for the overall operation.

The centre will take care of dogs for members of the general public and will be fully supervised with trained staff and the right staff-to-dog ratio, says Jen. The centre also includes a veterinary clinic, which is already tenanted. This will operate as a stand-alone business as well as provide on-site vet care for the SPCA. Jen says that previously it was difficult for some Aucklanders to access the Animal Village in Mangere to adopt, foster and assist the SPCA so the new centre will enhance this important aspect of the operation. Jen says that at certain times of the year the Mangere centre was reaching critical mass and so now more animals will be able to be fostered out. This is largely cats and kittens that, in particular, need to be fostered when the kittens are still nursing.

The home environment is critical for mums with nursing kittens as it’s much less stressful and kittens become accustomed to the home environment, she explains. We need to be accessible to families who are looking to adopt so we can find more loving homes. She says a concerted effort by the SPCA has seen a big increase in the numbers of animals being de-sexed which has seen the organization help around 8000-9000 animals in the past year. General population increase in Auckland is seeing the numbers rise and the new centre will help to cater to this need. An additional three inspectors have been employed taking the total number of inspectors in the Auckland region to twelve. We need to be accessible to families who are looking to adopt.

Photo Credit - Kate Burton-Brown