READING, PA. – Humane Pennsylvania’s new Freedom Center for Animal Rescue in Reading will try to resolve pet issues at the door and explore all possibilities.
“What this project is is a combination of an animal shelter and a veterinary service,” said Karel Minor, CEO of Humane Pennsylvania. “Our goal is to keep animals from entering our shelter, but once they are here we make sure we give them the best adoptive homes we can get.”
From the old location two years ago to overcoming construction delays caused by the pandemic, the new facility at 1801 N. 11th St. is ready to serve the community.
“We were actually almost a year late and we were hoping the final completion would be open last summer, but we’re finally opening this summer,” said Minor.
One of the big differences that people will notice is the separation of adoption and reception services with separate staff to provide the best experience possible.
“We separated the service areas in the building so that someone who is adopting is in a different area and not interacting with the people who bring animals in,” Minor said.
The site will include world class veterinary facilities on site and only a handful of similar facilities across the country.
“It just got access to – meaningful access – affordable veterinary care, which is a major problem for many places including the city of Reading and the city of Lancaster,” said Minor.
A soft open is planned for the beginning of June. An official opening is planned for June 26th.
