The aunt Noddy Animal Centre opened its doors on Saturday (July 2) in a grand event to celebrate the new £4m refurbished rescue shelter.
The opening ceremony was attended by West Sussex County Council leader and RSPCA Sussex West trustee, Paul Marshall; Gillian Keegan MP; and Chichester District Council leader Cllr Eileen Lintill.
They joined the branch president, Bruce Fogle, and chairman, Nick Cockram, as well as RSPCA rescue dog Woody to officially open the building.
Mount Noddy Animal Centre manager Susan Botherway said:
“We started construction and refurbishment in January 2021 so it’s been a huge project and we expect it to cost around £4m in total. But it’s fabulous to finally have our superb new facilities open, which will enable us to give the very best care to the animals who come into us.
“As part of the project, our cattery buildings were demolished and we had a brand new cattery built housing 47 cat pens as well as a maternity unit with specialist large pens for mums and their kittens.
“We also had a new kennel block built with space for 27 dogs plus a separate isolation wing, and brand new laundry and kitchen facilities. The old kennels were transformed into a new vet suite and hydrotherapy centre with a specialist treadmill.”
The project is part of RSPCA Sussex West branch’s plans to offer the very best rehabilitation and care opportunities to animals rescued by the RSPCA from Sussex and further afield.
Susan added:
“It’ll cost us approximately £600,000 a year to run the centre so we’re now turning to the local community to ask them to help support us so we can continue to help animals in need.”
The branch will also organise fundraising events to help towards the running costs, including the centre’s dog show on 16 July at Madehurst Cricket Club.
Ways you can help the centre:
BE A FRIEND - you will receive a quarterly e-newsletter, an invitation to an annual Friends Open Day and admission to four talks a year at Mount Noddy Animal Centre. You can become a Friend of Mount Noddy for a minimum donation of £2.50 per month or £30 per annum. To join: www.rspcasussexwest.org.uk/supportus/become-a-friend.
BECOME AN AMBASSADOR - help to raise awareness of the charity’s work by attending events to talk about their work and encourage others to get involved in fundraising activity. For further information contact: [email protected].
MAKE A DONATION - it costs over £600,000 a year to operate Mount Noddy Animal Centre. To make a donation go to: www.rspcasussexwest.org.uk/supportus/donate.
To find out more about the charity’s work, how to adopt a cat or dog and other ways you can support RSPCA Sussex West to provide leading animal care go to www.rspcasussexwest.org.uk or follow them on Facebook.