Kiwanis Club board member Larry Johnson presented the cheque to the animal shelter on May 17.

SPCA board member Bev Pratt expressed her appreciation towards the Kiwanis for the donation.

“Without donations there's so much we cannot do,” she said.

The donation will cover the cost of two projects at the shelter. An amount of $300 will be used to paint the dog pound with grit saturated paint to create a less slippery and safer area for staff and volunteers as well as the animals.

The remaining $500 will be used for a new lawn mower and a weed-wacker to keep the grass around the shelter area short.

This will help to keep the area tick free, as these parasites will cling to long grass until they are able to attach to an animal or human.

Pratt said their next project will be much needed repairs to the chain link fencing around the dog run. In addition to support for this project, the shelter is always in need of a variety of items for its daily operation, including bath towels, bleach, paper towels, toilet paper and canned kitten, cat and dog food.

She described the Swift Current shelter as progressive with a low-kill policy. They rarely euthanize and in most cases it is only done when an animal is suffering from a severe illness.

“We’re proud of the shelter,” she said. “We have some pretty healthy animals available.”

At the start of this week there were three dogs available for adoption while one was being fostered. Another 15 dogs were on a test drive pending adoption.

The shelter is close to capacity with the number of cats in its care. At the start of this week there were 34 cats available for adoption, three were being fostered and nine were on a test drive pending adoption.