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September 22, 2025
On September 18, the Georgian Triangle Humane Society (GTHS) in Collingwood, Ont., announced it has officially broken ground on the David & Helen Capin Regional Centre for Pets and People (RCPP), a vital new facility that will allow the organization to shelter more animals, serve more families in need, and meet the growing demands of the South Georgian Bay community.
The celebration, held at the future site at 135 Sandford Fleming Drive on September 18, also marked an extraordinary milestone in the capital campaign: $10.6 million raised toward the $17.6 million goal. While this is an incredible achievement, GTHS emphasizes that community donations are still urgently needed to complete the project.
“Today’s groundbreaking is not just the start of a building project—it’s the beginning of a much-needed new chapter for our community,” said Karen Marsh, Executive Director of GTHS. “Our current facility on Tenth Line is overcrowded and stretched to its limits. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, volunteers, and partners, we are creating a space that will help thousands more animals and people each year, and we’re excited to build on this momentum as we focus on raising the rest of the funds needed.”
Karen Marsh, Executive Director of the Georgian Triangle Humane Society
The new David & Helen Capin Regional Centre for Pets & People will:
To see how GTHS’s Humane Education program helps youth learn to care for cats and dogs and each other, please read this article in the Globe and Mail.
Monika Merz, Chair of the GTHS Board of Directors, along with her husband Michael T. Miller, made a significant philanthropic gift to the GTHS, resulting in the naming of the Monika Merz and Michael T. Miller Animal Hospital & Wellness Centre.
“This centre has always been about heart, compassion and community,” said Merz. “We are proud to support this vital project, knowing it will provide urgent medical care and wellness services to animals and families in need and expand successful programs like spay and neuter, which are so essential to long-term solutions. Our hope is that this hospital will become a cornerstone of compassion for generations to come.”
Groundbreaking ceremony at the Georgian Triangle Humane Society’s new site: 135 Sandford Fleming Drive in Collingwood, Ont.
Designed by Unity Design Studio and built by Bertram Construction, the RCPP will be a functional, welcoming and sustainablespace that reflects the deep bond between animals and people. It will directly address the urgent need caused by the region’s rapid growth, economic pressures leading to increased animal surrenders, and the limitations of the current shelter.
Both organizations were in attendance at the groundbreaking event and shared interesting insights regarding the considerations for this unique build, as well as the importance of it to the community as a whole.
Michael Gallant, Principal at Unity Design Studio and the architect on the RCPP project, noted that when designing the space it was vital to take research into account and include elements to ensure the well-being of the animals and their circumstances. For example, the new building will feature a mechanical system that’s equivalent to that of a healthcare facility, helping to not only keep areas smelling fresh and offer fresh air to the animals, but also to limit the unnecessary spread of infection.
Michael Gallant, Principal at Unity Design Studio
Traditionally, shelters and animal centres are very noisy and reverberant, forcing many dogs into depression, anxiety or fear. Dogs are often kept alone in small areas, with limited access to the outdoors. In order to reduce the stress and anxiety faced by many dogs that are surrendered or seized, this new facility was designed with pods for dog housing. Each single pod will have no more than five dogs, with the GTHS team able to control who shares each space, aligning personality and health conditions for better outcomes. If a dog’s neighbour has a similar disposition, the design allows the GTHS to open the door so they can share spaces and have companionship during their stay. Limiting each pod to five in total allows noise to be better controlled and isolated. Each individual kennel also has direct access to the outdoors, so dogs can learn and continue to do their business outdoors, and have the freedom to choose where they’re most comfortable.
For feline friends, facilities of the past would have large isolation and quarantine rooms, usually internal to the building with no access to natural daylight. Because of lack of square footage, cages might actually face one another, increasing the spread of respiratory illnesses, which are common in cats. This new animal centre will include cat rooms to house no more than 10 to 20 cats for best for infection prevention and control outcomes. Each room will have direct access to natural daylight, which is a necessity for cats. Cats have an amazing sense of smell, so every space has an appropriate distance between their litter box, where they play and where they sleep. Finally, each cat room will have access to an enrichment space, providing a much bigger area to play in each day.
Bertram Construction has been a builder in Simcoe County for 91 years. “As a company, we established a practice years ago where 10 per cent of all profits go back into the community. As such we do a lot of community and not-for-profit builds, and it’s just an absolute delight to be part of this Regional Centre for Pets and People,” said Lisa Bertram, Owner, Director and President of Bertram Construction.
Lisa Bertram, Owner, Director and President of Bertram Construction
Our cherished animals deserve more than four walls—they deserve a safe, nurturing home where they can thrive.
Community support is critical to bringing this vision to life. To learn more about donating to the project, please visit www.supportgths.ca.
The GTHS is a non-profit charity that operates an Animal Centre serving the south Georgian Bay region by providing shelter for homeless animals and adopting them to caring families. They offer innovative programs that enhance and support the human-animal bond. These programs include Lifelong Learning, Access to Care and Animal Transport for pets in underserved communities.
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