The Humane Society of Summit County is getting close to move-in day for its new facility in Cuyahoga Falls. Construction is expected to wrap up in September, and the organization, whose mission is to find forever homes for abandoned and neglected animals, hopes to relocate by October.
The Humane Society has been at its current location in Twinsburg since 2010, but the facility was in need of an update, according to CEO and President, Nick Browning.
“It’s been, I want to say 12 or 13 years since we moved over from Quick Road (in Cuyahoga Valley National Park) to here in Twinsburg,” Browning said. “While we’ve got space, it’s not what I would call a modern design with the best way to kennel animals in the healthiest way for them.”
Browning became president and CEO of the Humane Society of Summit County in July, following the retirement of Diane Johnson-Owens. Browning previously worked at Huntington National Bank as president of the Akron region before retiring in May 2023. He spent more than three decades during that time serving on nonprofit boards. Browning said he and his family have long provided a home for rescued animals and thought the Humane Society would be a great second career.
“I love our mission for being able to advocate and look out for abused and neglected animals,” Browning said. “It’s just a beautiful mission to be able to look out for those animals, to get them a safe place to recover from the injuries, because we do work with animals with malnutrition, they’ve suffered neglect and abandonment. So, they come to our kennel to heal. For us to show them to the public and find them their new forever home.”
According to Browning, the new facility Is meant to reduce the length of stay for the animals who are, on average, at the shelter nearly seventy days.
“The public is going to have an opportunity to view more animals, and we hope to accelerate the adoption rates that we have that they’re at the kennel. We have windows in each handling room, so that the public can view them without going in the room and really upsetting the animals,” Browning said.
“This new facility gives us the opportunity to have a state-of-the-art kennel that will help us provide healthier, safer environment with better outcomes for our animals, as well as our colleagues.” Browning said.
The current facility is in a warehouse and there are 120 kennels in one big room, which can be overwhelming for the dogs and visitors.
“The new facility will have six different handling rooms, so that it’s not just a big echo chamber for the dogs,” Browning said. “It will help them be more calm, they will feel more safe and it’s a healthier environment for them to be in.”
The new facility will also have a larger area for veterinary care.
“We will have X-ray radiology ability, we currently don’t have that,” Browning said. “That’s going to make it more convenient to provide the right care, at location and more quickly. It’s just a much more efficient way for us to understand what injuries our animals have sustained, and we can get about taking care of them more quickly.”
Browning calls the new home "a state-of-the-art facility that we can be proud of.”