Faithful Friends Animal Society cut the ribbon on a new shelter in New Castle Thursday.
Faithful Friends’ new headquarters at 165 Airport Road has room for 200 cats and 65 dogs, plus a little extra for critters like guinea pigs, reptiles, and farm animals.
“We also have rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, your occasional reptile, once in a while we’ll get a pig or chicken or goat and we just want to say that all animals deserve protection and care regardless of their species," says Faithful Friends Founder and Executive Director Jane Pierantozzi.
Pierantozzi says she started the organization in 2000 when she found out that publicly funded shelters were mass killing pets at a 90% kill rate. Delaware is now one of only three no-kill states in the country.
She says they’ve been looking for a new building for the last 10 years, and finding the land for it was the hardest part. The pandemic also held up fundraising and construction.
“We’re finally here with our new building, it’s 17,500 square feet with lots of bright sunlight, group living spaces for animals, and little patios," Pierantozzi says. "It’s just a wonderful facility. And our volunteer training education room as well will help us bring in more volunteers to help us with the animals.”
Pierantozzi says pet owners will continue to have access to community veterinary care, a pet food bank, and obedience training at this facility. She adds they also have a pet lifeline that connects pet owners, or people who have found strays, with resources statewide.
To celebrate the opening of the new facility, adoption fees for cats and dogs is just $23, in honor of the organization’s 23 years of service. Each adoption also includes free large lounging cat scratchers and treats for cats, and three months of flea treatmentand, heartworm prevention and treats for dogs.
