Toronto Humane Society Opens First ‘Branch’ Facility In 120 Years
Posted April 15, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Toronto Humane Society has been around in one form or another for more than 120 years. But up until now, there’s one thing about it that hadn’t changed – it’s always been located downtown. From its former headquarters on Wellesley St. to the state of the art facility on River St., the THS has always required would-be pet owners to make the long journey into the downtown core in order to adopt a dog, a cat or some of the other animals it shelters between homes.
That finally changed on Tuesday, when the Society opened its first ‘branch’ adoption office at 2802 Victoria Park Ave. in the Van Horne Plaza near Sheppard and Van Horne. The idea: make it easier for those looking for a pet to get one a lot closer to home.
Why did it take so long for the change? “We know that a percentage of people who want to adopt animals come from this part of the Toronto area, those that call Scarborough and Pickering and Oshawa home,” explains spokesman Tre Smith. “We learned that more and more and more people in this part of the vibrant Toronto would love to open their homes to the Toronto Humane Society if we could find a way to save them the trek all the way downtown.”
The Society’s research shows a third of the people who adopt pets in Toronto live in the east end. The new centre will comfortably hold about 40 cats and a dozen rabbits but not a lot of canine cuties. The reason: spokesman Lee Oliver tells CityNews.ca the facility simply isn’t equipped with the space dogs need to exercise.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t get man’s best friend there. If you’re serious about adopting a dog you find on the organization’s website, they’ll bring it to the branch so you can get to know each other.
So why hasn’t this august institution ever expanded its range before? “That’s an excellent question,” Oliver responds. “We should have.” And he hints this isn’t the last one you’ll see.
New THS Facility
Where: 2802 Victoria Park Ave in the Van Horne Plaza
Hours: 11am-7pm, 7 days a week
Phone: (416) 497-1011
Website: http://www.torontohumanesociety.com/default.asp
How are adoptions arranged?: If the animal is there and you’re judged a good fit, you can take it home. Or they’ll bring a dog to the facility to meet you.
