POTTSVILLE, Pa. — The newly renovated shelter at the Hillside SPCA near Pottsville was front and center at its open house in Schuylkill County on Sunday.
While the animals are usually the focus of events, the shelter wanted visitors to understand the new renovations are a testament to the transformative power of community support.
"Without your tireless effort and unwavering commitment, none of this would have been possible," said Ron Brown, Hillside SPCA Vice President.
With donations from the community, the shelter was able to renovate its meet & greet building where families are able to spend time with animals they are interested in adopting.
The dog kennels got a refresh as well.
"So we would have to focus on spray painting the kennels to make sure any rust was covered up, and then also we were getting holes in the chainlink from the dogs chewing on the chainlink, so there was just a lot of sharp edges we always had to be on the lookout for any holes we had to look to patch," said Sherri Schafer, Hillside SPCA Shelter Manager.
Shelter manager Sherri Schafer says this transformation was crucial for the safety of the dogs.
The biggest addition to the shelter is a spay and neuter clinic to service animals in-house and offer services at a low cost to the community.
Schafer says this cuts vet bill costs and saves staff hour-long trips to the vet, reducing anxiety for the animals as well, "So right now, we're booked out for about two to three months, so it's been a huge hit since it's opened up, so it's just made things so much easier."
It's dogs like Roman that get the help they need at the Hillside SPCA. The shelter says none of this would be possible without the support of the community.
Volunteers at the shelter say this transformation to the Hillside SPCA was a lifelong dream for Barbara Umlauf, the founder of Hillside SPCA, who lost her battle with cancer in 2018.
The shelter also dedicated a new memorial to Umlauf to honor her unwavering support of the animals and the community.
"It was a grassroots effort on her part. It was just a little shanty, and it grew into this incredible, incredible place, you know, where so many animals are helped, which was her dream from the time she was a little girl," said Paula Murphy, Barbara Umlauf's sister, Columbia County.
A dream come true for all animal lovers.