The Windsor/Essex County Humane Society has raised $100,000 to purchase two new rescue and relief vehicles, marking a major milestone during its centennial year. The funds were generated through the Fuel the Future campaign, which aimed to replace aging vans that had become unreliable for daily operations.
New Vehicles and Garden Unveiled
Alongside the vehicle announcement, the organization unveiled a Centennial Garden in Jackson Park, located adjacent to Ouellette Avenue. The garden serves as a living tribute to a century of compassion and community support for animals in need.
Executive director Lynnette Bain emphasized the urgency of the new vehicles, noting that one of the old vans broke down the same week the donation was received. “Our current vehicles are aging and increasingly unreliable, yet they are essential to everything we do,” Bain said. “Reliable transportation is not a luxury, it’s a lifeline.”
Major Donation and Impact
A significant $62,000 donation from longtime supporters Tony and Mary Pattinson provided the catalyst for the campaign. The new vehicles will allow animal protection staff to respond more quickly in emergencies, conduct cruelty investigations, and transport animals safely for veterinary care, adoption, and foster placements.
Animal care and protection supervisor Preston Soucie highlighted the critical role of transportation. “We’ve had moments where we’ve questioned whether a vehicle would make it through a call or whether we could get an animal safely from one point to another,” Soucie said. “That kind of uncertainty is something no frontline responder should ever have to consider into their day.”
Expanding the Helping Paws Program
The new vehicles will also support the Helping Paws Program, a mobile veterinary clinic for pet owners facing financial hardship. Bain noted that many animal surrenders result from owners unable to afford veterinary care. Previously, staff used personal vehicles to deliver services; the new vans will enable them to transport supplies and personnel efficiently.
“We’ve been able to use our own personal vehicles to do this service, so to be able to transport all the supplies and all the people at once will make a big difference,” Bain said. She added that the humane society plans to collaborate with local homeless shelters to provide veterinary services for unhoused individuals with pets.
A Century of Service
Founded in 1925 as an animal shelter in a backyard on Goyeau Street, the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society was formally established a year later. It is the oldest-running animal shelter in the region and made history in the 1990s as the first in Ontario to implement a mandatory spay and neuter policy. The organization now operates from its headquarters at 1375 Provincial Road.
