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Brandywine Valley SPCA decommissions Georgetown pet crematorium

Brandywine Valley SPCA
The pet crematorium at the Brandywine Valley SPCA Georgetown campus was decommissioned this week.

The Brandywine Valley SPCA has decommissioned its Georgetown campus’ pet crematorium.

Officials call the move “a really big step” in saving the lives of animals in need of shelter and moving toward a “no-kill” approach.

“And it was marked by decommissioning a crematorium that has been in place for over 15 years. And actually, crematory services have been taking place there since 1971. So we took the step of decommissioning that representation of what used to be in the past for sheltering of euthanasia and we’re converting that space to a community center,” said Brandywine's Marketing Director Linda Torelli.

She says since Brandywine took over the Georgetown facility in July 2017, it’s moved from an overcrowded shelter with a high euthanasia rate to a modern no-kill shelter helping the organization reach a 96-percent live release rate last year.

She adds that the community center replacing the crematorium will offer humane education programs, including “Critter Camp” - a week-long day camp for children where kids can meet veterinarians, learn about shelter pets and do fun things for the animals in the shelter.  

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.