Animal Refuge Center in North Fort Myers preparing to open new medical facility

The Animal Refuge Center in North Fort Myers is the largest no-kill shelter in Southwest Florida, and now they are just months away from opening up a new state-of-the-art medical facility to continue to help our furry friends.

The refuge center’s current medical facility on the property is small, so they are building a brand-new one that will allow them to make sure all their animals are being cared for.

The Animal Refuge Center said they typically care for more than 300 dogs and cats at a time. This includes animals looking to be adopted who need rehabilitation or who may be sick and need care for the remainder of their life.

Adding the new intake and medical facility on their property on Old Bayshore Road is going to make a huge difference in what they can do.

The shelter said it will give them the space to get animals the surgeries they need, quarantine them and give regular health checks.

Animal Refuge Center board Vice President, Rob Spicker, said, “right now, we’re just squeezed and we’re tight and it’s tough. And we’re moving animals from, you know, one building to another while they recover or prepare and with this new facility, they can all be under one roof. During all that time we can prep them to have surgery, and they can recover all in one space.”

The new medical facility will open at the beginning of next year.

If you are interested in adopting a pet, they have plenty of cats and dogs that are in need of a loving home.

The Animal Refuge Center also depends on donations to stay in operation.

That is their only means of revenue and so far it has allowed them to be able to grow and expand to keep up with the need.

Their largest fundraiser, the starlight auction took place on Saturday, at the Marriott Sanibel Harbor Resort and Apa.

All the money raised goes to support homeless pets in need and surgeries for the animals at the new medical center that is expanding and will be fully open at the beginning of next year.

“We can’t do anything without them. And they allow us to take care of the animals that are on-site, and to bring in animals that are in need of desperate care. Animal Refuge Center throughout the years has brought animals to our facility that no other place would take because of a condition they were in and we would take a chance with them,” said Spicker.

If you want to support the animal refuge center you can visit their website, animalrefugecenter.com, for more information.