Louisiana SPCA Celebrates Opening of New, Permanent Facility
Following Major Recovery and Rebuilding Post-Katrina

After 17 months operating a full-scale animal shelter out of a temporary, makeshift warehouse, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA) unveiled a 21,600 square-foot animal rescue and care facility that is being hailed by colleagues nationwide as a major triumph of recovery from one of the country’s largest natural disasters, after the organization lost its shelter, 80% of its staff and its entire infrastructure in Hurricane Katrina.

The LA/SPCA’s Animal Rescue and Care Center (ARCC) was unveiled in ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremonies Friday, May 18, 2007. The celebration continued all weekend long with tours, children's activities, reading time with puppies and kittens, and educational programs featuring exotic birds, bugs and turtles.

Special guests attending our grand opening event included Ed Sayres, president and CEO of the ASPCA, Tina Bouzon of the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation; Melissa Rubin of The HSUS; Donald E. Powell, Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast Rebuilding; and philanthropists Madeleine and T. Boone Pickens.

The ARCC represents the first of three phases in our organization’s $17 million
capital campaign which is allowing the LA/SPCA to once again have a permanent
facility in New Orleans since the storm. ARCC is the first phase opened on the
Dorothy Dorsett Brown Louisiana SPCA Campus.

Now we move forward to build Phase II (The Adoption, Education & Veterinary Care Center) and Phase III (The Agility Center). Please join us in this  unique opportunity to be a part of the rebuilding of the Louisiana SPCA and donate now to help us improve our animals’ quality-of-life and create a better future for both the people and animals of Louisiana.

Wonderful photos of the ribbon-cutting can be found in our Photo Gallery.