HALIFAX -- For the Fredericton SPCA, 2019 has been an expensive year. First, the not-for-profit's roof had to be replaced; then came interior water damage, and now its storage shed is beyond repair.

“We try to spend all our money on the animals, making sure that they're safe and cared for and get their vet care,“ says Fredericton SPCA director of marketing and development, Karen McGeean. “That's where most of our day-to-day money goes – so we didn't have the money to repair the roof to that extent.”

The cost to repair the damage is over $45,000. Fortunately, donations of money and time from the community have helped immensely. Volunteers at the local organization were able to fix the outside. However, there’s much work to do on the inside.

“We have to replace a lot of plumbing and roof tiles that have been damaged, so that still needs to be done,” says McGeean.

And the work doesn’t end there.

“Upon inspection of our shed, we found the shed was equally damaged and a lot of our contents in there were also severely damaged,” says McGeean. “We now have to demolish our shed, rebuild it – which is our storage for all of our archives.”

The SPCA says volunteers discovered damage after a week of heavy rainfall. However, Saturday’s heavy rains couldn't put a damper on their spirits.

“Raise the woof!” said a donor to the repair fund. “So great!”

Since October, the SPCA has been fundraising, and the response has left them grateful - especially during the generosity-inspiring holiday season.

“We've received a grant from the Kindness Club Foundation; we've also received a grant from the Regional Development Corporation and the rest have all been cash donations,” says McGeean. “Once we get all of that in, we're looking probably at about $80,000…Yah, Merry Christmas!”

Meanwhile, the SPCA says it is hoping to raise about $3,000 in additional funds to address interior water issues and to hopefully begin building a new storage shed.