By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John’s animal lovers are encouraged to come out Wednesday to celebrate the official grand opening of the parish’s long-awaited animal shelter, according to a release from parish administrators.

St. John spokesman Buddy Boe said the parish will cut the ribbon on the $640,000 facility, located at 124 Water Plant Road in LaPlace, at exactly 9:09 a.m. on Sept. 9.

Boe said the new building has expanded the operations and capabilities of the St. John shelter. The facility includes waiting rooms, animal viewing rooms, surgery rooms and expanded kennels for dogs and cats.

St. John residents who bring their animals out to the opening are eligible to receive free microchipping for their dogs and cats. The microchips, which include name and address information, normally cost about $15.

The shelter, which started serving the public late last month, is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Plans for a new shelter had been a bone of contention in St. John Parish for more than eight years as St. John Council members debated over where it should be located before finally deciding to rebuild at the existing shelter site. The pet project was a key platform issue of Hubbard’s campaign for parish president in 2007. The newly sworn in council approved the shelter at its inaugural meeting in January 2008, and the project has been fast-tracked ever since, despite a few debates over design changes to bring down cost of construction.