With only a few weeks until Chatham-Kent's new animal shelter opens, officials behind the build have settled on a name for the facility.
Construction on the exterior signage for the building will be underway shortly. According to Marjorie Crew, co-chair of the Friends of the New Animal Shelter Committee, the shelter will be "absolutely" be named the "Chatham-Kent Animal Shelter."
On Monday night, CK Council will get a report detailing the signing of the shelter. If any councillors wish to object or ask questions they can. However, Crew said she doesn't expect any pushback.
The committee originally hoped a donor would come forward for naming rights to the building.
"We had a sponsorship list," explained Crew. "For rooms, for naming rights... these things all had a certain amount of money attached to it."
Although no one stepped up to donate the amount needed for the naming rights, Crew said she believes calling it the "Chatham-Kent Animal Shelter" is a perfect fit.
"The money that was raised from the community was from all over Chatham-Kent," she said. "It wasn't just from Chatham or South Chatham-Kent or North Chatham-Kent. It was from everyone. It was a community effort."
Crew said she believes the name will also help for the sake of continuity, noting that the other municipal shelter in Wallaceburg is known as the Wallaceburg Animal Shelter and therefore all signage will be consistent as the two shelters operate in conjunction with each other.
Crew added that construction on the new shelter is on time and coming along great.
"We're very happy to see this project being completed," said Crew. "It was a long time coming and we're really pleased with the outcome and the community support for it."
