The North Bay and District Humane Society is celebrating the official opening of its new pet adoption and animal wellness centre on Main Street West.
With the opening of the new centre, Phoebe, a young shepherd mix puppy, has found her loving family with Christine Brereton and her two sons – Trent and Reed.
Phoebe is the first animal adopted out of the new shelter.
"That was unexpected and kind of a blessing," said Brereton, with a chuckle.
"We lost our dog in October and the timing just felt right."
Soon, Phoebe won't be the only animal to find a loving family.
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The humane society's newly-opened $2.4 million animal wellness and pet adoption centre has 50 per cent more room and can house between 60-80 animals at a time.
It includes 12 dog kennels, three kitten and cat care rooms, two small animal rooms, an animal meet and greet room for adopters and five new outdoor dog exercise areas.
"Just to be able to move some pets in this morning is really something," said the society's executive director Liam Cullin.
For the last several months, the shelter has been at maximum capacity.
Staff said each year they find homes for about 1,400 pets.
Cullin said this new centre will allow the humane society to be the "northern Ontario hub" for animal welfare.
"We work tirelessly throughout the year bringing animals in," he said.
"From all over, not only Ontario, but we have partners in Manitoba and we have partners in Kentucky that we work with."
Last fall, Pet Valu contributed $250,000 towards the build through the 'Companions For Change' sponsorship program.
"We saw the need right away. This is the gateway to the rest of Ontario as far as adoptions," said Adam Woodward, Pet Valu's Senior VP of Franchise Store Operations.
"We actually started this relationship with the humane society in 2018 with the rescue truck. 1,800 pets have been adopted through that relationship over the years."
The old shelter building, which is located right beside the new facility, will still be used by staff as a pound and animal hospital when a rescued animal is brought in.
"Our next big project is going to be an expansion of our pet clinic," said Cullin.
"Right now we've got one surgical suite."
The new building will now be a new temporary home for our four-legged friends while they wait patiently to find their loving family, staff said.
"They just need some care and love," said Brereton.
The grand opening comes a week after a parvovirus outbreak was declared in the community, forcing the society to make the dicfficul decision to suspend some services.
