By Tamas Mondovics
Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center hosted a special ceremony last month as it celebrated the completion and grand opening of the of the shelter’s newly renovated lobby and customer service area.
“The opening of the new lobby was a great success,” said Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center Director Scott Trebatoski. “People from every aspect of the community including many of our volunteers have come to gather for this celebration. This is exactly what the Pet Resource Center should be. The community coming together for pets.”
Located at 440 N. Falkenburg Rd., the $500,000 project expanded and transformed the lobby and cat adoption area into a spacious, colorful, and comfortable greeting area.
Pet lovers and four-legged special guests joined County Commissioners, volunteers and community leaders along with center staff filling the new lobby showing their supports of the facility as well as vouching for its importance of serving the community.
“This center is one of the best places for first time pet owners to visit,” Trebatoski said. “The animals have their shots, medical records, not to mention a very inexpensive adoption.”
The major renovation encompassed approximately 2,000 sq. ft. of the main lobby and customer service area with improvements including the addition of approximately 285 sq. ft. to the front of the building, a new welcome desk, self-service kiosks with touch screens for convenient and comprehensive pet matching, new “cat condos” that offer fancy felines more than twice the space of the previous adoption cages, and energy-reducing LED technology.
“This is a great investment for all animal lovers and the entire community really,” County Commissioner Kevin Beckner said.
Also on hand for the opening, County Commissioner Stacy White agreed when he said, “I have three pets at home, all three of which were adopted from this facility, so I was just amazed at the transformation that has taken place.”
The Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center is often the first place to receive the community’s lost and surrendered animals, and it hopes to be the first place adopters come to select a new pet.
It is open daily from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. for adoptions, lost pet searches, low-cost spay/neuter vouchers, and Hillsborough County pet license tags. Call 744-5660 or visit HillsboroughCounty.org/Pets.
