First look inside new Franklin County Humane Society building

FRANKLIN CO., Ky. (WKYT) - After six long years of work, opening day is finally right around the corner.

“Now that the weekend is actually here we’re like, wait there’s going to be animals? Is this actually true? Can it be?” explained Sam Marcus, a former president of the Franklin County Humane Society Board.

Marcus said the idea for a new building for the Franklin County Humane Society started in 2013. And for the last decade, they’ve dealt with flooding and other issues every time it rains. In 2017, they started a two year campaign to get city and county funding. But they needed a lot more money if they wanted to see this dream through.

“Our capital campaign really only took a year and a half and we raised, in that time, over two and half million dollars privately. In the middle of a pandemic.”

And 14 months after construction began, the state of the art facility was complete.

“Going by the highest standards of care for animals, then your goal should obviously be to go for the highest standards of care for people, as well. You do one thing a step at a time, but you show where your heart is and what your intent is by doing things like this.”

The new multi-million dollar facility is even serving as a source of inspiration for county leaders across the state, many of whom have already been out here and asked the humane society just how they did it.

“To show what can be done, and what will be done. Again, it’s one thing to have that dream, but another to bring it to reality. This shows that you can do it.”

The humane society will need help loading and unloading food and supplies Saturday morning before they officially move the animals in. If you’re interested in helping with moving supplies or transporting animals, you can click the link here to learn more.