The Wild at Heart Wildlife Refuge Centre recently announced it has permanently ceased operations and transferred its assets to another local organization that helps needy animals.
Pet Save Sudbury, a rescue, shelter and adoption organization for dogs and cats, is taking over Wild at Heart's Lively facility.
The animal rescue plans to start renovations as soon as possible in the new year, and hopes to move into the former Wild at Heart building by August 2020.
While Pet Save receives Wild at Heart's assets, it also, under Canadian law, is taking on its debts.
Veterinarian Dr. Rod Jouppi, Wild at Heart's founder, explains that the centre, which has been around since 2004, lacked any continued revenue stream, and has lost money every year.
It had to take out a bank loan six or seven years ago, and Jouppi himself has loaned money to the charity.
Although the organization largely runs with the help of volunteers, that volunteer base had been dwindling, Jouppi said.
Also, many of Wild at Heart's volunteers were live-in interns who came from all over the world to learn to care for wildlife.
However, the organization had learned their living quarters on the Wild at Heart property was not up to fire code.
“With decreasing volunteers and no live-in interns, it is not feasible to think of starting up in the spring,” Jouppi said.
A lack of government funding has actually seen the closure of about 20 wildlife centres in Ontario in the past 10 years, he said.
Wild at Heart typically cared for about 1,000 animals per year, but this year's batch have already been released back into the wild.
(Check out this video about Wild at Heart Sudbury.com produced in 2018).
“When we decided that we were not sustainable for wildlife, we talked to Jill at Pet Save,” Jouppi said.
“I think they're a very sustainable organization. They have been in existence for 20 years. We're still fulfilling our mandate of helping needy animals.”
While as an animal lover Pet Save director Jill Pessot is sad to see Wild at Heart close, she said the transfer of the wildlife centre's assets is “just overall a great gift from Dr. Jouppi. We really, truly appreciate it.”
Pet Save, which Pessot said Jouppi actually helped her to found almost two decades ago, was planning on constructing its own, 4,000 square foot building in the near future, also in Lively.
But at 8,000 square feet, the Wild at Heart building is twice the size of the building they were planning.
Even with a $400,000 renovation to turn it into an appropriate space for domestic animals, whose needs are very different from wild animals, not having to build from scratch saves Pet Save more than $500,000.
“So it was kind of an easy decision to take it over,” Pessot said.
Pet Save is getting a new home as it deals with a bumper crop of stray cats — it is caring for about 150 right now, about 50 more than usual, and its shelter is at capacity.
Pessot said she was so desperate for space recently, she brought a mother and kittens over to the vacant Wild at Heart building, although it hasn't yet been renovated, and is actually in the process of being stripped.
She said what Pet Save needs the most right now are people to foster adult cats and kittens, as well as donations of supplies such as kitty litter.
Pessot also emphasizes the need to get your cats spayed — one unspayed female can potentially be responsible for producing 7,000 cats over the course of three years, she said.
As for Wild at Heart, Jouppi said he hopes other individuals will step up and form another organization to care for wildlife in the area.
“In the meantime, I'm happy that Pet Save has been able to take advantage of the structures and equipment we have been able to gather, and in the process help needy animals in the area,” he said.
He said there is actually a small wildlife rescue operating out of Val Caron called Turtle Pond Wildlife Centre specializing in turtles that also takes in other small wild animals.
Besides that, the closest wildlife centre is Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Rosseau, near Parry Sound.
