FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Franklin County Humane Society officially has a new home in Frankfort, leaving behind its flood-prone former location.
The shelter is now housed in a much larger facility located at 100 Companion Place in Frankfort.
The project cost roughly $6.5 million and has been in the works for about a decade. The humane society received public funding from the city of Frankfort as well as the Franklin County Fiscal Court. The rest was funded through fundraising efforts and grants.
"We still kinda have to pinch ourselves," said shelter manager Kerry Lowary. "We're here and this is a real thing and we don't have to worry about whether it's raining, like today, down at the other shelter."
Its former location was on the bank of the Kentucky River and suffered major flooding events six times, including the latest one in early 2021.
The flood forced the shelter to close for nearly six weeks at the time and relocate its animals to other shelters around the state.
The new shelter is over 11,000 square feet, about 3,000 more square feet than the original location.
It includes multiple outdoor areas for dogs, an internal clinic, and a free-roaming room for cats.
While the shelter is able to house about the same amount of dogs, its capacity for cats has doubled.
To learn more about the new location and how to adopt in Franklin County, visit the Franklin County Humane Society website.
