A dream for one county's Humane Society is finally realized.

A new state-of-the-art animal shelter for the community is open in Pike County. The Pike County Humane Society has worked for this moment for more than 25 years.

"It took 11 years to find property, one year to develop, and one year to build," David Stratton, with the Humane Society, said.

Officials say this new facility has many advantages over the old one.

"There's a room where surgery can be performed on pets to get spayed and neutered," Stratton said.

The shelter has separate cat and dog adoption rooms, isolation rooms, visitation, and birthing rooms.

It can hold more than 100 animals at a time, and is 7,000 square feet. This is about six times as much as the last facility.

"There is more room for parking, to move around, and room for volunteers to hang out," Bonita Rose, with the Humane Society, said.

The organization wanted to build a facility they would be proud of.

"A facility that's good to visit, and safe for the animals until they are hopefully adopted," Rose said.

Now that the building is finished, the Humane Society is handing it off to the county to operate.

The shelter will open to the public for adoptions Monday morning. Dogs will be available for $50, and cats for $35.