Furkids is opening the doors of its new Sutherlin Dog Shelter to the public, giving Forsyth County residents their first broad look at one of the largest expansions in the rescue group’s history.

The grand opening runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Furkids headquarters, 5235 Union Hill Road in Cumming. Visitors can tour the shelter, meet adoptable dogs and take part in a family event with refreshments, face painting and giveaways. 97.1 The River will also be on site.

The dogs themselves have already settled in.

Furkids began moving animals into the new shelter in June, bringing its canine operation onto the organization’s nine-acre Cumming campus. The two-story building replaces a more traditional kennel setup with individual rooms, indoor and outdoor play areas, training spaces, grooming facilities and quieter areas intended to reduce stress.

The difference is substantial. The shelter can accommodate as many as 135 dogs, nearly doubling Furkids’ previous capacity. Each dog has an individual room rather than facing rows of neighboring kennels, a design meant to create a calmer environment and make it easier for adopters to spend time with animals without the constant noise common in conventional shelters.

Furkids founder and CEO Samantha Shelton has said the calmer environment is already helping dogs move through the shelter more successfully, with early adoptions coming soon after animals entered the building. The larger goal is to shorten shelter stays while allowing Furkids to take in more dogs from overcrowded municipal facilities around Georgia.

The shelter also includes dedicated meet-and-greet areas, separate enrichment spaces for large and small dogs, safer walking access and outdoor play yards. Its location beside the Big Creek Greenway gives volunteers another option for taking adoptable dogs out of the shelter environment for walks.

The opening is part of a much larger transformation underway at Furkids’ Cumming headquarters.

The nonprofit has also completed the new Giaquinto Medical Center, an approximately 11,000-square-foot veterinary facility designed to expand surgery, intensive care, isolation and shelter-medicine training. Furkids expects the combination of the medical center and new dog shelter to significantly increase the number of animals it can rescue and treat each year.

That makes today’s celebration more than the opening of another animal shelter. Furkids is gradually turning its Union Hill Road property into a destination rescue campus, with separate cat and dog facilities, veterinary care, event space and future community services concentrated in one place.

For Cumming and South Forsyth, it also brings a major regional animal-welfare operation firmly into the local community. Residents who may know Furkids from adoption events or thrift stores can now see firsthand how the organization is changing the shelter experience.

Today’s grand opening is free and runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 5235 Union Hill Road, Cumming. On-site parking will be available until the main lot fills, with overflow parking and shuttle service planned nearby.