Regina Humane Society offers a sneak peek inside its new building

The Regina Humane Society’s new Animal Community Centre is nearing the end of construction, with plans to open the new facility in January.

A sneak peak inside the new building Tuesday showed off an adoption atrium, a vet clinic and an educational centre.

Lisa Koch, the executive director of the Regina Humane Society, said the humane society’s previous facility on Armour Road was “time-expired” and no longer has the space to provide the care the animals need.

“The (new) building is a tool to be able to deliver all of the services that are so vital to keeping people and animals together, happy and healthy,” she said.

The facility cost $28 million, with the humane society raising $15 million of that amount. Right now, it’s short $1 million to complete the fundraising.

The humane society has received numerous gifts during its fundraising campaign, including $1 million from the Lothian family, $1.1 million from Gerda Fiesel and $500,000 from Dream Developments.

Construction on the facility, which is located in the Harbour Landing area at 4900 Parliament Ave., began in May of last year.

The new facility has more room, which means better biosecurity for the animals. Koch said many of the employees and animals were crowded in the old facility. Cramped areas are not good for the animals, and can lead to disease, according to Koch.

The veterinarian clinic in the new facility is located on the east side of the building. It is a huge upgrade from the previous facility, with new surgical tables, spacious kennels and independent checking rooms.

When the Armour Road facility was first built 60 years ago, there was a priority on outdoor dog spaces, but not necessarily the same spaces for cats.

In the new building, a three-season “catio” gives the felines an area to spend part of the day outdoors.

There’s a large dog park in the back of the building. Even when the building is closed for the day, the dog park will be open to the public.

A focus on expanding educational opportunities for kids and adults is available on the west side of the building, where large classrooms were built.

Through the front doors of the building is the adoption centre, which is to house mainly cats and dogs. Large, independent rooms separate the dogs. A cat atrium with large circular windows peeks outwards into the main lobby so cats and people can interact.

Koch said the goal for both facilities remains the same.

“The goal is to accept animals that are in need of care, provide the care that they need, and move them into their new families as quickly as possible,” she said. “Adding more space doesn’t achieve that, but adding more services and the programming that will allow you to shorten the length of stay is very important.”

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