Happy Valley-Goose Bay SPCA struggling to get by this summer

Labrador's only SPCA animal shelter is once again pleading for help as it struggles to keep operations going.

Bonnie Learning, a longtime volunteer with the Happy Valley-Goose Bay SPCA, said the summer months have been financially difficult in recent years.        

She said fundraising is getting harder for the non-profit organization. 

"The cost of living is going up," Learning said in an interview with CBC Radio's Labrador Morning on Monday. "There's not as much disposable income to donate or spend otherwise.

"It's hard for everybody, including not-for-profits and charities," she said.

Learning said the organization spends about $400,000 on its operations every year. Seventy per cent of that money goes toward full-time employees' wages and vet bills for the animals, she said.

However, the former vice-president said the SPCA ensures those two expenses are covered, no matter what the financial situation is.

The staff instead has to make decisions on what brand of dog food to buy, for example.

The small shelter — home to cats, dogs and other small animals for adoption or fostering — holds a variety of fundraisers throughout the year, but Learning said their most helpful ones don't happen until fall.

In a social media post, Learning said if the shelter doesn't get more monetary support, it will have to stop all intake of new animals by the end of October.

The Happy Valley-Goose Bay SPCA hosts a monthly 50/50 fundraiser, and has several more events planned for the end of July and throughout August.

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