Pet Adoption Center Celebrates Grand Opening

On a recent Saturday morning, the crowd lined up outside, filing through the doors of the Gwinnett Humane Society's adoption center at The Avenue Webb Gin. Animals were calm despite the chatter.

The humane society moved its adoption center to the Snellville site in March. It had previously been located at Discover Mills in Lawrenceville. The organization will celebrate its official grand opening today, April 16. Festivities begin at 10 a.m., and there will be adoptable animals children’s activities, door prizes, refreshments and a bake sale.

Foster care pet providers bring their pets in to interact with potential adoptive families. All of the pets are housed in foster homes preparing to be matched with a suitable family. 

One of those dogs is Colonel, a Great Pyrenees found by animal control officers at a local KFC restaurant. He was scavenging through the Dumpster for food. The officers brought him to the humane society, where Frank and Dianne Hendershot took him. They named him Colonel because of where he was found. 

Colonel now works with Therapy Dogs International,  which takes animals to schools, hospitals, libraries, and nursing homes to provide therapy to people in need of companionship. This also helps socialize the animals, and it increases their chance for adoption.

In addition to highlighting animals, the humane society also partnered with Crews Middle School in an artistic poster contest.The front windows of the adoption center were lined with posters created by students. The final selection will be printed on T-shirts to be sold to help raise money for the humane society.

Cindy Flanary, owner of Sweet Dreams Pet Sitting, has been working with the humane society for several years. She said that “there is never a dull moment."

The Gwinnett Humane Society was founded in 1979 to promote animal welfare, prevent cruelty and reduce overpopulation by educating the public about humane animal treatment. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by private donations. 

For more details, contact Gwinnett Humane Society at www.gwinnetthumane.com or come by The Avenue Webb Gin location at 1350 Scenic Highway, Suite 204. The hours of operation are Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.