REGINA — It’s been years in the making, but the Salthaven West Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Centre has a new home.
The wildlife care organization has moved roughly 10 minutes north of the city.
“Our new clinic is about 2,500 square feet, a large upgrade from the 600-square-foot basement (in Regina) that we've been operating in for the last 10 years,” said Megan Lawrence, director of Salthaven West.
Lawrence mentioned that their old home created several challenges over the years.
"We had to do our admissions outside because there wasn't a separate space for the public to come in, so when it's -50 C in that cold, it makes it challenging.
“We also weren't allowed to do some patients, such as deer fawns, because they require such a large amount of outdoor space.”
Hoping to relocate, Salthaven West raised $600,000 over the past three years, a timeline they said wouldn’t have happened without the community.
“We were blown away by the generosity of the community. They made the new clinic possible sooner than we thought it would,” said Lawrence.
The new facility features 24 acres of outdoor space, several exam rooms, larger staff break areas, a triage section and dedicated isolation rooms.
Lawrence stressed the new clinics are vital to keeping patients safe.
"Using these isolation rooms will keep any sick animal out of our clinic and in a separate space where we can treat them appropriately.”
Despite only opening, Salthaven West aims to expand the facility, but needs an additional $100,000 through fundraising.
“This additional money will help us build larger outdoor enclosures, flight pens for big things like pelicans and bald eagles. We also want to build a new large fox enclosure,” said Lawrence.
Salthaven West hopes the new facility can increase the number of animals it treats, which has been roughly 1,300 patients yearly.
Anyone who comes across a sick or injured animal is asked to contact Salthaven West through its website.
