Animal lovers from all over the city attended the Nov. 29 grand reopening of the Thompson Humane Society building, which has been closed to the public since July.
Humane society board chair Oswald Sawh told the crowd on Thursday that they’ve spent more than $160,000 renovating this space at 27 Nelson Road, installing new floors, kennels, isolation rooms, windows and ventilation.
“This has been a long time in the making,” said Sawh. “[This building’s] been ours since 2006 and it was in need of a major facelift. We all recognized that.”
Sawh spent most of his time on Thursday thanking the various local businesses and organizations that made these renovations possible, including the Thompson Community Foundation, 100 Women Who Care, Assiniboine Credit Union and the Northern Inn & Steakhouse, whose owner, Earl Colbourne, who was elected to council Oct. 24, raised $2,200 to help the humane society purchase a new accessible bathtub for its dogs.
“I can’t say enough about Thompson,” said Sawh. “The businesses, the residents have allowed us to continue to operate. There’s a reason why so many humane societies have closed down over the years while ours has continued, and that’s because of this support.”
Sawh also thanked the City of Thompson for its financial backing and partnership, which dates back to helping them acquire this space on Nelson Road more than a decade ago.
Deputy mayor Kathy Valentino said that the humane society is a “key component” of Thompson and that the city looks forward to working with them well into the future.
“You’re a first-class organization and I can tell you your volunteers and your board are pretty amazing people and it makes the City of Thompson a special place when we have community involvement like this,” she said.
Starting Dec. 3, the Thompson Humane Society will be open 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
