PRESS RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melanie
Norton, Director of Public Relations
Office
(760) 839-7976 / Cell (760) 505-9893
FIRE SURVIVORS TO TURN
DIRT FOR
ESCONDIDO HUMANE
SOCIETY GROUNDBREAKING
Community Invited to Attend
ESCONDIDO,
CA—June 24, 2002—Eighteen months after fire swept through the Escondido
Humane Society, killing over 100 animals, EHS will hold an official
groundbreaking ceremony for the new Phase I Animal Shelter on July 9. The general public and their pets are invited
to attend a 9 a.m. continental breakfast reception, followed by a ceremony at
9:30 a.m. Two of the dogs who survived
the fire, Flame and Cocoa, will perform the official turning of the dirt. The new site is located on East Valley
Parkway, behind the Mayflower Dog Park, just before the grade to Valley Center.
According to Phil
Morgan, CEO of the Escondido Humane Society, “In the early stages of planning
the shelter we created a wish list. We
wanted enough land to accommodate future expansion, we wanted an architect
experienced in the design of animal care facilities and we wanted our equipment
and engineering to be second to none. I
am happy to say that our wishes are about to come true.”
The future facility
is situated on seven acres of land and measures 15,000 square feet and will
accommodate more than 10,000 animals annually.
The shelter will offer programs such as humane education, adoptions and
foster care. Architect Wayne Usiak has
designed over twenty animal hospitals and clinics throughout the nation. Credits for the engineering firm, Schirmer
Engineering Corp., include evaluation of the World Famous San Diego Zoo’s
primate facilities.
Those planning to
attend Tuesday’s ceremony are asked to RSVP by July 3 to (760) 740-0296. For directions to the site, log onto the EHS
web site at www.escondidohumanesociety.org.
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