‘Game changer:’ Regina Humane Society opens doors at new facility

Moving the Regina Humane Society from its old facility to a new, $28-million building was a journey a decade in the making.

That’s according to Lisa Koch, the society’s executive director.

The Regina Humane Society opened the doors of its new home to the public on Tuesday at 4900 Parliament Ave.

“This is really a dream come true to move from our old 60-year-old facility to this amazing animal community center,” Koch told reporters on Monday.

The animals at the new facility live in ‘home-like’ habitats. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

She said it was very emotional to see all of the animals at the new building for the first time.

“There were a lot of tears,” she said.

Construction of the 38,000-square-foot building began in May of 2022.

Koch said a lot of nuance went into the design, and the new facility is nearly twice the size of the old space at 79 Armour Rd. just north of the city.

“It is intentionally designed and functionally organized to provide best practice biosecurity, odour control and acoustic control, but you don’t see all that when you walk in,” she said.

“You see the bright, beautiful colours and the natural light and the open spaces, and we hope that everyone feels that this is a happy place.”

Koch said the features of the building enable staff and volunteers to more effectively do their jobs.

“It’s a game changer for animal welfare,” Koch said.

“We’re able to keep our animals healthier because of the ventilation systems, the odour control (and) the acoustics. It reduces stress and it also is an inviting space for the public to visit.”

In addition to being a place where people can adopt animals, Koch said the humane society also sees the new building as a community centre that will host educational and school programming.

The building also has two dog parks, a fully functioning veterinary clinic and open, “home-like” habitats for the animals.

Koch said the new space is designed to shorten the animals’ length of stay.

“We have not increased the volume tremendously for the number of animals that we can house, because warehousing animals is not best practice,” she said.

Funding

Koch said the humane society ran a $15-million capital campaign and still has $1 million left to raise.

“As a charity, you know that’s a big number for us, and so we’re hoping that we are able to achieve the rest of our capital campaign as soon as possible,” she said.

Throughout the building, “donor tails” can be found on the walls – stories written about donors who made significant gifts during the development of the building.