WARREN — Healthy Hearts and Paws, which officially opened at its new location on Martin Luther King Boulevard in March, will host a grand opening of its new cat shelter on Saturday as work begins on the third new building at the shelter.

Jason Cooke, president / CEO of Healthy Hearts and Paws, said the cat building — called Bootsie’s Bungalow — will be open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The bungalow was named for Glenn and Jean Harnett, who loved animals. The building houses 11 cats.

Jo McElhany, a volunteer who works with the cats, said people want to see the felines and when they want an indoor pet, they often choose a cat.

She said the open house will include a basket raffle, tours, refreshments and a jewelry sale.

Cooke said the $50,000 special building for the cats allows them to be in a separate building away from the dogs, which often are barking.

“It was stressful for the cats to be here. Now there is a new place up and running for them,” Cooke said.

He said there are many stray dogs, but there are also far more stray cats running loose.

“It is a rough life out there for cats. Too often litters of kittens are dumped on the side of the road,” Cooke said.

Cooke said donations and private foundation money helped cover costs for the building.

The shelter has more dogs than cats.

Cooke said with the cats being moved to their own building, the former cat room will be used as a play area for dogs.

HELP FROM POLICE

Cooke said the shelter works with local police departments that often find stray dogs or cats and are able to hold them at the station in cages until he or another volunteer can pick them up.

He said some of the departments have special cages and crates in which they are able to temporarily house the dogs after hours or overnight.

Cooke donated a crate for the Warren Township Police Department and a resident donated one for the Champion Township Police Department.

“Sometimes the police will arrest people and there is a dog at the house with no place for it to go. The dog cannot go to jail, so it is left behind,” Cooke said.

Also completed in 2024 was a sewer project tied into the Warren city sewer system.

Cooke said a third 4,200-square-foot building next to the main shelter is underway at the property to provide more space to house dogs.

A groundbreaking took place in December.

The $600,000 building was covered by fundraising and donations. When completed, there will be a room used for smaller dog breeds and also an indoor and outdoor run area.

Cooke said the new building also will have indoor play areas.

“When dogs are not in their kennels, they can be in an indoor play area where they can destress,” he said. “We need more space. We have 85 dogs right now.”

He said when the shelter opened at the new location in March, there were 57 dogs. Cooke said two dogs were surrendered just recently.

He said there also is a problem of people letting dogs loose in the woods or neighborhoods.

“There are older dogs people just let loose and don’t take care of anymore,” Cooke said.

He said a dog owned by the woman killed in a domestic violence incident in Masury Dec. 20 was brought to the shelter, noting sometimes pets are left behind when there is a violent crime.

He said when an elderly person dies, their pets are left behind and there is often no plan in place to take care of them.

PET FOOD PANTRY

A pet food pantry also is available at the shelter.

“It will provide help for families in need who may be struggling financially. They can come here and get dog or cat food or cat litter, which will help them keep their pet. Too many families are struggling and can’t feed their pets,” Cooke said.

He said the shelter only uses certain brands of dog food, so there are other brands available for the public that have been donated.

“This is a win-win for everyone,” he said.

The shelter is all volunteer, with a roster of 60.

“These volunteers are great and are here because they want to make a difference,” Cooke said.

Volunteers help with fundraising efforts, such as a wine and chocolate and basket raffle planned in February at Leo’s Ristorante.

ADOPTER

Champion resident and shelter volunteer Rachel McGrogan adopted a dog, Galaxy.

“A lot of the dogs who have been here a long time, it takes time for them to bond to someone. When they get trained, there is a successful transition from the shelter to a home,” Cooke said.

Galaxy was able to be trained and because of the bond it had with McGrogan, the dog was adopted.

McGrogan said there are numerous ways people can help, including fostering a dog temporarily until a permanent home can be found.

She started volunteering at the shelter in March by walking the dogs.

“The key to help get dogs adopted is training, I took Galaxy to be trained and that was all that was needed,” McGrogan said.

Cooke said it is important to highlight responsible pet ownership and people need to understand the commitment to having a dog,

“We push spaying and neutering. We are really educating people on this. There are too many irresponsible people who are not spaying or neutering their dogs, which contributes to overpopulation of animals,” Cooke said.

He said there is also an emphasis on dogs getting vaccinated against diseases.