Already at full capacity, crawling with dogs and cats looking for a new home, the Hinton and area humane society officially opened its doors on Saturday.

The million dollar state of the art facility is outfitted with spacious rooms and kennels for the cats and dogs, with plenty of room. It includes a dog wash and grooming facility, as well as special visiting and quarantine rooms to help meet the needs of the community.

Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor and SPCA vice-president Cathy Thomas cut the ribbon on the building, with the mayor commenting on the co-operation required to turn the building into a reality.

Thomas fought back tears throughout the day as well wishers – and their pets – stopped by the grand opening to show their support.

We’ve had a lot of supporters in the community and we had a lot of people from Jasper,” Thomas said. “This fulfills a need within the community, and hopefully with some education, it will continue to fulfill the need.”

About half of the animals adopted from the SPCA end up in Jasper.

Mayor Taylor began working with the SPCA when he was still a councillor, and said it’s rewarding to see the project come to fruition.

“The group came to us eight years ago and they had a big dream,” said Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor. “To see this support and this project come together shows us it’s good to dream big.”

He said the project is another example of how Hintonites rally together to complete difficult projects.

“Hintonites rise to causes. This is a good example of small hands that acted together,” Mayor Taylor said.

The town of Hinton helped with the final stage of construction, backstopping a loan for the SPCA to ensure it would get built.