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A New Home for Dorchester Paws
Outdated, Over Capacity and Under Water
Dorchester Paws’ 48-year-old shelter is in terrible shape. Ask more than a few people, and you’ll hear at least one of them say it should be condemned.
Outdated
Dorchester Paws has spent tens of thousands of dollars over the last few years to band-aid the shelter—from repairing broken kennel doors to patching roof leaks. These fixes are only temporary; they cannot solve the underlying problems caused by the building’s worsening structure.
over capacity
The shelter was designed to hold 181 animals, but today we have over 400 in our care, many in foster homes. Because our facilities limit us to spaying or neutering only 60 animals a week, many animals under our care must wait to be spayed or neutered and we cannot meet local families’ needs for low-cost spay/neuter services.
under water
In the first two months of 2020 alone, our shelter had to close three times because of flooding. When the shelter closes, we have to:
- Turn away animals in need;
- Move every animal at our shelter to a nearby middle school gym and other shelters across the Lowcountry;
- Stress homeless animals already stretched to their limits;
- Shut down other critical shelter operations. Basic animal care—including regular medicine delivery—takes a back seat to emergency needs.
A better future is on the way
We are proud and excited to announce The Campaign to Build a New Shelter
Through this campaign Dorchester Paws will:
Build a new animal shelter to increase our capacity, improve shelter conditions, and expand medical and behavioral treatment for every dog and cat under our care.
Construct a spay and neuter clinic to vastly expand our services and end pet overpopulation.
We have purchased 6.8 acres of land!! The future home of Dorchester Paws and the first low-cost spay and neuter clinic in Dorchester County, will be located at the corner of Central Avenue and Highway 17a.
Priority #1 Build a New Shelter
A rendering of the proposed design for the future home of Dorchester.
This new shelter will transform Dorchester Paws’ ability to care for homeless dogs and cats.
The new shelter will have space for us to care for nearly 200 dogs and cats at a time—we will drastically reduce the unwanted pet population in Dorchester County.
Individual kennels will be larger than current kennels and meet national animal care standards.
Dogs will get more exercise with larger play yards and dedicated walking trails. Our current shelter has no place for volunteers to walk the dogs.
Heartworm treatment and behavioral assessments—measures not provided at county shelters—will become standard procedure and help more, healthy animals find their forever homes.
All in a Day’s Work
WITH JUST A SINGLE 15′ BY 15′ ROOM THAT SERVES AS AN EXAMINATION ROOM AND A SURGERY, DR. ANGELE BICE MANAGES CARE FOR THE OVER 400 ANIMALS IN OUR HANDS.
Each day begins with heartworm treatments. Many of the animals that arrive on Dorchester Paws’ doorstep suffer from active infestations, which can be life-threatening. Next up are emergency exams for dogs and cats under foster care. After that, Dr. Bice assesses Dorchester Paws’ newest arrivals. These exams are the critical first stop on the road to a forever home. Exams allow our vets to create a plan that outlines steps to bring each animal back to health.
After new animal exams, it’s time to begin surgeries. Dr. Bice spays and neuters between 20 and 25 animals on surgery days. And while it may seem like finishing the last procedure signals the end of the day, for Dr. Bice, it’s just time for lunch.
In the afternoons, Dr. Bice treats animals with ongoing medical needs—from minor conditions like ear infections and superficial wounds to specialized, and often lifesaving, surgeries, including amputations, mass removal, and wound repair. “It takes a whole village—veterinarians, behavior specialists, volunteers, and foster families—to get an animal ready for its forever home,” explains Dr. Bice.
The ON SOLID GROUND Campaign won’t necessarily change the type of work Dr. Bice engages in every day, but it will mean she will be able to devote 100% of her time and energy to the most important part of her job—bringing animals back to health. She won’t be juggling so much in a single room, waiting for flood waters to recede, or power to come back on. “We’ve taken huge steps to improve animal care and welfare—programs like Track, Neuter, and Release for feral cats and Dogs Playing for Life,” says Dr. Bice. “The ON SOLID GROUND Campaign will ensure we can take meaningful steps toward our vision for a world where every animal goes from victim to victory.”
Priority #2 Construct a public Spay & Neuter clinic
Today, Dorchester Paws can only perform 60 procedures a week—far less than the number of animals who arrive on our doorsteps and need this service.
This clinic will help move the needle and end pet overpopulation across the county.
As part our new shelter, we will build a larger spay and neuter clinic, equipped with a full recovery room and four tables, which will allow us to:
Double the number of procedures that we can perform each and every week
Offer the low-cost spay/neuter services to the public—the only such services available in Dorchester County—for the first time ever.
Ever since the day Dorchester Paws opened its doors, we have been committed to ending pet overpopulation. We do this by spaying/neutering every homeless pet that arrives at our shelter and encouraging community members to spay and neuter their pets as part of our campaign to promote responsible pet ownership.
Because we don’t have the capacity to spay/neuter every animal as soon as they arrive, some animals are forced to spend more time in the shelter than necessary while they await their turn to be spayed/neutered. Extended stays at the shelter—no matter the reason—put animals at greater risk for decline.
It’s time for Dorchester Paws to grow, and to grow, we need your financial support.
We hope you will join us and make a gift as part of the ON SOLID GROUND campaign to build a new home for Dorchester Paws. A gift to Dorchester Paws’ campaign will allow you to express your most dearly held values about animal welfare.
Build a new shelter and spay/neuter clinic
Increase our capacity
Drastically improve shelter conditions
Offer medical and behavioral treatments up to par with national animal care standards
Support Dorchester Paws’ efforts today, tomorrow, and long into the future
Interested in naming opportunities?
Contact nhutt@dorchesterpaws.org