DENVER -- Ever since she was in high school, Demi Merritt’s goal was to help animals in need. After years of sacrifice, she’s days away from making her dream a reality.
"I think we’re still sort of living in a dream land," said Merritt.
Now, starting Saturday, Demi’s Animal Rescue has a place to call home and a whole operation behind it.
"We’re hoping that this really snowballs so that we can really have a big impact on these pets and that we can see that in statistics and we can focus on certain numbers and lower them," said Merritt.
In their warehouse, they store all of their donated items that then get moved to their thrift store. Money from the store then helps fund their real mission.
"Our main focus is our adoption, spay and neuter, and pet retention, which is keeping animals in their homes," said Merritt.
They will also focus on dogs and cats of all breeds that typically have a harder time finding a home. After raising almost $50,000, they know they’ll need to keep money coming in to make ensure pets are finding homes.
"If funding is low we have to put a pause on saving those animals until we have more funds," said development & operations manager for Demi’s Animal Rescue, Jessica Roeger.
The same goes for finding more volunteers.
"We need lots of volunteers, not only at the thrift store itself but just within in the rescue," said Roeger.
If both of these come together, Demi’s Animal Rescue could be at the forefront of real change.
"We’re running on overload but we do have hopes that people will see it and fall in love with the mission," said Merritt.
For now, they’ve achieved a dream they’ll have to keep fighting for every day.
Demis' Animal Rescue will have it's grand opening on Saturday from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. at 5895 E Evans Ave #102 in Denver.
