Helping others is what gets Amelia Canto going. That’s why the new chief executive officer for the Niagara SPCA and Humane Society (NSPCAHS) has spent most of her working life in the not-for-profit sector.
“For me, it's very meaningful work. It helps communities.” Canto said during a recent visit to the animal welfare agency’s cat adoption centre at the Seaway Mall in Welland. “That's what gets me out of bed every day.”
It was about a year ago when Canto came to Niagara from Guelph, where she was director of advancement at St. John’s Kilmarnock School, to take a job as Brock University’s executive director, development and donor relations. She has been on the job with the animal protection agency since mid-January when she took over from Rick Perciante, who came out of retirement to lead the agency on an interim basis in the wake of the sudden death of long-time Executive Director John Greer in January of last year.
Her new role is one which will allow her to use all the skills she’s acquired working in a variety of roles in the not-for-profit sector, she said.
“That's what I love about it,” she said. “It brings all the experience that I've had over the years together into one place. I get to lead an organization, which I really enjoy doing,” she said.
A big project she’ll be overseeing is an expansion of the agency’s Niagara Falls shelter on Chippawa Parkway. The current building will be kept and renovated while a new space will also be built on the site. While the initial estimates from a few years ago pegged the cost at about $10 million, Canto says that costs have gone up since the plans were first revealed while Greer was alive.
“It’s going to be a little bit higher, so we'll have to see,” she said. “We have to review all of that, bring it all up to date and see where we're at.”
In addition to the shelter in Niagara Falls, the agency operates shelters in Welland and Port Colborne as well at the cat adoption centre. It also provides animal control services to those municipalities as well as Pelham, Wainfleet, Lincoln, West Lincoln, and Haldimand County.
Currently, there are 216 animals in the agency’s care. It also operates a spay and neuter clinic in Welland, and a second clinic will be established with the expansion in Niagara Falls.
“To have another spay and neuter clinic, or another clinic that can do surgeries is going to be fantastic at the Niagara site,” Canto said. While most people think of the agency for its shelter services, it’s about much more, she added.
“It's about making pet ownership more sustainable for people. There are people in need who are really struggling, particularly right now, and we want to make sure that we can help them.”
She added that the agency will also work with social service agencies “to see what we can do to make it easier for people to keep their pets and be able to stay in housing that allows them to live with them.”
But any agency is only as good as its volunteers and Canta said it has some great ones.
“We have a fantastic volunteer program at our Welland site, and we'd like to continue that, or extend that into the Niagara Falls site as well,” she said.
Many – like shelter manager Tammy Gaboury – have been with the agency for decades.
“It’s interesting how long people have been at our site with Niagara SPCA,” Cantos said. “Tammy, she's been with us over 20 years, I think closer to 30.”
And Greer’s passing was hard on staff and volunteers, Canto said, but the work continued with the help of Perciante and now her.
“The last year I think has been challenging in many ways,” Canto said. “Rick really helped in terms of maintaining the momentum and maintaining just a steady presence in the in the organization and helping everybody continue on.”
More information on the Niagara SPCA and Humane Society can be found at www.niagaraspca.com