PIKEVILLE, Ky. — What began as a dream for some Pike County resident almost three decades ago has now came to fruition as the new Pike County Animal Shelter will be dedicated Saturday morning.

The state-of-the-art, $1 million facility is located on Lykins Branch Road and is more than seven times larger than the currently shelter in use by the county just a few miles down the road, according to Donna Stratton, building committee chairwoman and member of the Pike County Humane Society.

"The Humane Society has saved every penny it could get for almost 30 years in order to see this happen," Stratton said. "We are so excited about the new animal shelter. It is beautiful. It is a dream come true."

Some may question the cost of the facility and features such as stone columns, arched windows, landscaping and private visitation rooms, she said. However, she is also quick to point out that things like things these are the result of years of research by herself and other members of the Humane Society.

"We have travelled to facilities in Louisville, Lexington and even Knoxville, Tenn., and their advice is the same — treat it like a hotel," Stratton said. "This makes people feel better about the animals they adopt knowing they came from good healthy environment. It has also been proven to reduce pet disease as well."

In addition, the new shelter has been constructed in the middle of a residential area and the building needed add value for the surrounding landowners rather than detracting from the community, she added.

The new shelter includes an intake room where animals are received and processed and an accompanying isolation room to make sure all newly received animals are healthy; a surgery room, treatment room and additional isolation rooms for cats and dogs; a birthing room; separate cat and dog rooms; and a lobby.

Stratton said the new shelter has 7,000 square feet of space with 20 dog runs and 19 puppy runs as opposed to the 12 runs in the old shelter than had less than 1,000