The Jacksonville Humane Society will begin celebrating the grand opening of its new adoption, education and community resource center on Thursday.
The replacement shelter has been in the works for nearly a decade after a massive fire destroyed the original building and killed 86 cats and dogs back in 2007.
Jacksonville Humane Society Executive Director Denise Deisler is excited to see the new shelter all ready to go for old and new furry occupants.
“Well we are very close to grand opening here in the next couple of days. We’re literally kind of doing what I call putting the jewelry on the building. The base of the building is here and the structural parts are here so now we’re getting signs up, landscaping in, touching up and doing lots of last minute details,” Deisler said.
Deisler says staff members can’t wait to show off the new facility and thank everyone who helped made it possible.
“We’ve worked so hard and our community has been so generous through this whole process. We’re so excited to throw the doors open and have them come in and see what their generous donations and incredible patience made possible,” Deisler said.
This event will span a three day period. Thursday will feature a ribbon cutting ceremony and proclamation by Mayor Lenny Curry. The celebration continues on Friday and Saturday with shelter tours, door prizes, free pet adoptions, a family fun zone, food trucks and more.
For more details on the celebration visit http://www.jaxhumane.org.
Kelton Givens can be reached at newsteam.wjct.org, 904-358-6317 or on Twitter at @Kelton_Givens
