Humane Society of Greater Dayton opens $6 million expansion: ‘The need was there’

“We’re excited to bring all these opportunities to this area, in the whole Miami Valley, because we do intend for this to be a regional facility,” said Brian Weltge, CEO of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.

Weltge said while the new clinic hasn’t officially opened yet and the organization is not sure when it will, the program will be able to serve people and their pets.

“When people have pets, and they aren’t able to take care of their pets, they either have to put them to sleep, or they have to turn them into shelters, or they turn them loose,” Weltge said. “And so this hospital is going to allow us to keep family units together.”

While the clinic has yet to open, the spay and neuter facility has opened. Jessica Garringer of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, said the organization plans to expand the number of pets they are able to spay and neuter.

The organization spays and neuters about 4,000 pets per year, she said. The organization is hoping to increase that number with the expanded number of beds to about 20,000 pets.

Spaying and neutering pets prevents pet overpopulation, which in turn also can help prevent unnecessary killings of animals.

The expansion of the campus, first announced in 2015, was a long-term project. Weltge said the expanded facility had long been a dream of his.

“The need was there because of pet overpopulation, because of cruelty and neglect, and because of unwanted animals,” Weltge said. “And so, all the things that we have put in place here are designed to really attack and target those problem areas in our community.”

Garringer said the Humane Society will have another phase of growth soon. They plan to build a new adoption facility near Austin Landing. That project is still several years away, she said.

Weltge thanked the donors who helped make the current facility possible.

“We have donors of all levels, that heard the needs that we have in our community, they listened to the needs we have in our community, and then they put the dollars forward that allowed us to build and expand,” he said.