Down a dusty gravel driveway off Captain Reginald Parsons Drive in West Bay, beside some stables and a large house, lies a bare plot of land that will eventually become the new home of Cayman’s unwanted, abandoned and rescued dogs and cats.
The site, looking a little stark after being cleared of vegetation to prepare for the construction of the Cayman Islands Humane Society’s new home, will remain empty until a neighbouring plot of 11 acres with a $5.5 million price tag can be sold.
A RE/MAX listing for the site states that the proceeds of the sale will be used in the development of the new animal shelter. It describes it as an “urgent sale” and the seller as “very motivated”.
The land where the new shelter will be based and the neighbouring site that is up for sale belonged to the late Ardyth Smith, who left funds and the land to a trust to be used for the sole purpose of building a new shelter for the Humane Society, said Samantha Cooper, the shelter’s operations manager.
She said funds left by Smith have been used to clear the ground for the shelter and other preparatory work. While there is some money available that would enable the actual construction to start, there are not enough funds to ensure the work can be completed. That is why the Humane Society is waiting until the adjacent land is sold and all the money is in place, she said.
Until the land is sold, it’s not possible to give a timeline for when the shelter expects to relocate, according to Cooper. However, she estimates that once it is sold, it will take about two years before the new building is ready for the animals to move in.
The Humane Society is preparing to celebrate the birthday of its benefactor, who had been involved with the animal charity since it was founded in 1972. Smith, who died on New Year’s Eve in 2016, would have turned 95 on 4 April this year.
Her generosity is what is enabling the shelter to move, at some point, from its current home at a deteriorating and flood-prone building in George Town to the new West Bay site.
Cooper said Smith had been an animal lover her entire life.
“She always advocated for animals and animal care,” Cooper said.
Smith had stipulated that the new shelter should be dedicated to the memory of her late husband, Irvin Smith, who died in 2003.
Trust funds ring-fenced for new shelter
Cooper said the animal charity wants people to understand that whilst money has been left by Smith, it can only be only be used to build the new shelter. Hence, the Humane Society still needs to raise funds for its daily operations and other needs.
“We don’t manage the trust,” she said. “It’s managed by professional trustees. She [Smith] obviously intentionally created a trust and did it that way so she could ring-fence that money for a new, permanent shelter to be built.
“We don’t have control of the cash to spend on day-to-day expenses,” she said.
Cooper says she often hears people say the Humane Society has “millions in the bank”, which she described as an urban myth.
“I’m not really sure how it got started. I would guess just because in the 50-odd years we’ve been in existence, many people have left us money, or donated money, or donated goods,” she said.
However, the charity’s expenses come to $1.1 million a year, or approximately $267 per animal per month, she explained. That includes vet costs, vaccinations and food for the dogs and cats, as well as the operation of the shelter, which includes staff salaries and utility bills.
One of the questions that remains outstanding for the Humane Society is what will happen to its popular Book Loft, which sells secondhand books on the second floor of the shelter. The new shelter design does not include a place to put the bookshop, so the charity is looking for alternatives, and says it’s open to suggestions or location offers.
As well as being a constant revenue stream for the shelter, it’s also “very environmentally friendly” because the used books don’t have to end up in the landfill, Rocha said, adding that the shop also helps out people who may not be able to afford expensive new books.
“We will definitely keep it,” she said. “We just don’t know yet in what format.”
The charity’s thrift store, which moved from the shelter site to Plaza Venezia on North Sound Road a few years ago, will remain at that location, she said.