PORT ANGELES — Staff and volunteers at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society have been busy planning Saturday’s Meowgaritas & Mutts fundraiser and preparing to open the new shelter to the public Monday.

“[The new buildings] are great. We love it,” said Mary Beth Wegener, executive director of the humane society.

The animals are settling in at the new location at 1743 Old Olympic Highway, she said, adding that the dogs have taken to the walking trail and the cats are enjoying stretching out on cat trees in the sunny windows of the cat rooms.

It is the humans who are still working on learning new routines and methods in the new buildings, she said.

The total cost of the new shelter complex — including construction, remodels of existing buildings and new equipment — was about $1.5 million, raised entirely through public donations.

Lindberg & Smith Architects designed the kennel building and was project manager, with Hoch Construction as the general contractor.

Local businesses donated materials, and volunteers completed much of the remodel work in the cat building, office and veterinary clinic.

Wegener said the reopening, originally scheduled for April 24, was pushed to Monday because of the large amount of staff time needed for the transition and for planning Saturday’s Meowgaritas & Mutts fundraiser.

Shelter hours will be from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays.

The adoption clinic in Sequim will continue. It is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at Petco, 1205 W. Washington St.

Tickets still available

At least 35 tickets for the Meowgaritas & Mutts annual dinner and auction were still available as of Thursday, Wegener said.

Tickets are $50 per person, while tables of eight are available for $400, at the dinner at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St.

Cocktails and a silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. A Mexican dinner catered by 7 Cedars will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Proceeds will go toward the care of animals at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.

To reserve a seat at the dinner and auction, call the humane society at 360-457-8206.

Closed temporarily

The old shelter was temporarily closed for adoptions April 11, and the move took staff and volunteers five days to completely empty the buildings and move everything to the new shelter complex.

Fifteen adoptable dogs are at the shelter’s Bark House custom dog kennel building, and 25 adoptable cats are in Kitty City, a converted house with several open cat rooms,Wegener said.

The shelter has no kittens available now, which is unusual, she said.

Community spay and neuter efforts have paid off, she noted, but she added that kitten season is expected to be in full swing later this spring and summer.

A separate room in Kitty City for small pets has ferrets and a selection of hamsters and guinea pigs.

Rabbits and chickens also are available for adoption.

The old shelter property at 2105 W. U.S. Highway 101 was sold for $89,000 to David Waddell, according to county property records.

Wegener said she did not know what Waddell intends to do with the property.

The new 8,500-square-foot shelter complex is located on a 9.5-acre lot between Port Angeles and Sequim.

The dog building is 5,500 square feet with 40 indoor-outdoor kennels. Existing buildings on the property were converted into a cat building, a veterinary clinic and an administrative building.

The shelter takes in about 1,700 animals each year — about 65 percent cats, 30 percent dogs — and the remainder are pet rodents, rabbits, fish, birds and ferrets.

Many of the animals are stray pets that are returned to the owners, and others are put up for adoption or fostered in preparation for adoption.

About 6 percent of animals — those that are too ill or injured or are a danger to people or other animals — are euthanized. Animals are never euthanized for a lack of space, Wegener has said.

Adoption fees for the animals vary according to species and age.

County residents who want to surrender an animal, have lost or found an animal, or require the shelter’s assistance in some other way can phone 360-457-8206 or email info@ophumanesociety.org.

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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.