Chicago Heights-based South Suburban Humane Society now has a new animal adoption facility in Homewood.

“Let’s open the doors and save lives,” Emily Klehm said Friday afternoon during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Homewood Adoption Center.

Klehm, CEO of the shelter, welcomed Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld, staff, volunteers and representatives of the community as she officially opened the doors to the center, which will house about 40 dogs and 20 cats at a time.

The center will only adopt out animals, she said. Intake, or animal drop-off, will continue to be handled at the Chicago Heights facility.

A year ago almost to the day, Klehm said she was at her wit’s end with overcrowding issues at the South Suburban Humane Society.

After some googling, she said, she found herself standing inside 2207 183rd Street, site of a former Homewood Animal Hospital, envisioning transforming the empty space into an adoption center.

With the mayor’s welcome and the generosity of multiple donors, including an anonymous gifter who bought the building, the newly finished space will enable the shelter to “save approximately 800 more lives per year,” Klehm said.

As she thanked each donor, among them veterinarians, construction companies and private contributors, the crowd of about 40 people clapped, and the dogs being held in the new indoor/outdoor pens to the west of the entrance began to bark.

Hofeld, who owns three rescue black Labs, said, “It’s delightful to see this center come to fruition. It’s very beneficial to the organization. The goal is to get more dogs and cats placed in good homes.

“What I like is the spill-over effect. People visit the center, have a meal at a local restaurant, do some shopping,” he said.

Homewood, he added, is home to a lot of animal lovers.

Fire Chief Bob Grabowski, whose staff followed the project through inspection phases, agreed.

“There are so many pet lovers in this town,” he said. “Every evening, there are people walking their dogs. It’s really neat to see.”

SSHS Shelter manager Megan Schoenbeck said the new center features 30 indoor/outdoor kennels; three bigger suites for older dogs or bonded pairs; a surgical suite for spaying/neutering and some minor medical procedures; a cat colony; and a large outdoor play area.

Eventually, she added, there will be a dental suite, too.

Veterinarian Sabina Amen will work at the new facility, performing spaying and neutering operations.

By offering those services at the new center, she said, “we will be able to keep the public dogs (animals brought in) at one location and the shelter (animals being adopted out) dogs at another. We won’t have to worry about spread of contagious diseases as much.”

Amen said the surgery is important, particularly for female cats and dogs.

“It helps prevent breast cancer, which is very common in dogs,” she said. “In cats, 90% of breast cancer is malignant. By spaying you’re preventing that. You’re also preventing uterine infections and unwanted litters.”

The new facility, she said, “is fabulous. You need a lot of equipment to start a clinic. It’s wonderful that so many people have been willing to donate.”

Also on hand for the opening were Lori and Nolan Broughton, who traveled from Texas for the event.

A former resident of Hammond, Indiana, Lori Broughton adopted Frosty, a westie/Jack Russell mix, from SSHS in 2002.

Frosty died of cancer in 2015, she said, but the Broughtons have continued to support the shelter, donating money for the adoption center’s new visiting space, called Frosty’s Meet and Greet Room, in their beloved pet’s memory.

On their Frosty Strong Facebook page, she said, they raise money for animal care, including $20,000 that they recently donated for cancer research.

Also on hand for the opening was Frosty fan Tim Vaught, who once returned the dog after it wandered out of Lori Broughton’s yard in 2010.

Vaught said he was cutting the grass in Hammond’s Pulaski Park that day when he spied the pet, which had crossed two busy streets to reach the grassy area.

Jill Rodenburg, of Homewood, also cheered during the ceremony. She had just finished breakfast at nearby Blueberry Hill restaurant when the crowd began to gather outside the new animal center.

“I think this is fantastic,” she said. “This is the first I heard of this. It’s wonderful. I shelter cats. I support animal charities. Animals are beautiful. All they have is love. They’re not flawed like humans.”