Altoona Times

A grant of $700,000 has been allocated to support the construction of a new animal shelter in Antis Township, as announced by Representative Jim Gregory. The Central Pennsylvania Humane Society plans to consolidate its services on an eight-acre site on Old Sixth Avenue. The new facility will feature 54 dog kennels and 32 cat kennels, adjustable for different animal sizes.

Representative Gregory highlighted the significance of this development: “The Central Pennsylvania Humane Society is a well-respected organization that has been doing its best with outdated, undersized facilities. This grant will kickstart the project to build the new shelter, which will benefit humans and animals alike.”

Funding for the grant comes from the Commonwealth Financing Authority through slot machine gaming revenue rather than tax dollars.

Joseph Zolna, president of the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society, expressed the challenges faced by the organization: “The humane society has operated since the late 1980s from three pieces of landlocked property, and we’ve done our best to work with older buildings and infrastructure. However, we simply cannot facilitate the number of dogs brought to us.”

Currently spending over $400,000 annually on utilities and building maintenance, the nonprofit aims to reduce these costs with a modern facility. Zolna also mentioned future additions: “This project will allow us to add walking trails and a public vet clinic that is up to code,” noting that discussions about consolidation have been ongoing for two decades.

Gregory emphasized his motivation for supporting this initiative after discovering local police departments sometimes need to house stray dogs due to limited space at the current shelter. He stated, “Relationships with animals, particularly dogs and cats, enrich our lives. This worthwhile project will do much to enhance those relationships in the future.”