The 65-year-old Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees goes far beyond cat and dog adoptions.

When Christian Snyder shows up to work at the newly expanded Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, his day is not spent tending the dozens of dogs and cats available for adoption.

The Delanco resident, who is the community pet outreach specialist, is developing the AWA's pet bereavement program and also oversees the biweekly Pet Food Pantry, which so far this year has provided free pet food to 587 needy families that own 1,533 cats and 648 dogs.

Providing counseling to people who are overcoming the grief of losing their pet was Snyder's idea — he was certified in 2009 — and the AWA latched onto the expansion of its education programs.

"It's a great example of where we see the future of the organization," AWA Executive Director Laura Houston, an animal education specialist who joined the nonprofit AWA in May after a career that included education positions at the Philadelphia Zoo and the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, told 70and73.com in an interview Friday at the center.

The AWA this weekend is celebrating the grand opening of its $6-million expansion on Centennial Boulevard, where it opened 65 years ago to care for pets. The expansion was financed in full by fundraising.

On Saturday (June 25), the AWA opens its doors to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. to show off its new digs, with an emphasis on activities for children.

» MORE ABOUT THE CELEBRATION: Go to the AWA website.

Like Snyder, Jordan Kemmerle, of Bellmawr, and Colleen Martin, of Williamstown, are not directly involved in adoptions at the AWA. Kemmerle is a veterinary technician and Martin is the AWA's pet clinic receptionist.

They work with the AWA's three full-time veterinarians to provide healthcare to both the animals offered for adoption by the organization as well as the pet owners who use the AWA's low-cost clinic. Houston estimates fees are about half of those of a private vet's office.

The AWA has two separate health clinics, one for private patients and one for pets awaiting adoption.

One welcome addition in the expansion was isolation rooms for pets awaiting adoption, Houston explained. Many cats come in with respiratory infections, and they are isolated in one room. Dogs and cats also come in with ringworm and they, too, have a separate room to stay in until the fungal infection clears.

While surgery typically is limited to spaying and neutering, the AWA this summer will add dental care to the services offered to the public, Houston said.

AWA gets many of its dogs from other states, particularly in the south, where pets without owners often are euthanized. Its cats come from around the region. Although the shelter takes pets from the public, the owner wanting to get rid of a dog, cat or small animal must go on a waiting list, Houston said.

Annual operating expenses total about $3 million, with much going to pay AWA's 40 employees, about three-quarters of them full time. They are assisted by the 1,500 volunteers who are on file, with 200 active at any one time, Houston said.

"We can always have volunteers," Houston added.

The AWA also has 161 foster care animals living in 42 homes, said Ryan Castoral, of Lakehurst, who is the foster animal and transport coordinator.

Community outreach includes education programs and a mobile veterinarian program once a month in Camden. 

The Camden program offers free rabies, distemper and kennel cough vaccines for the pets of up to 50 people for each visit. A microchip also will be inserted into the pet free of charge.

Houston said the mobile clinic van shows up at 2:30 p.m. and opens an hour later. However, residents begin lining up at 9 in the morning to get their pet cared for, she said.

When full, the shelter holds 30 dogs and 56 cats, she said. That is more than double the capacity of the past, said Houston, whose West Deptford home has two rescue dogs and two African Grey Parrots (one of which says "Okay. Bye-bye. Have a good day" when Houston leaves in the morning).

Last year, 1,415 pets were adopted, but that total was low because the shelter was closed part of the time for construction.

The average number adopted each year is 2,500 and the goal is to now reach at least that total, according to Houston. The shelter will handle small animals, such as gerbils or rabbits, but it does not work with reptiles, birds, wildlife or farm animals.

Houston explained the emphasis at the shelter is to alleviate stress on the animals and to keep them active. An enclosed catwalk near the ceiling winds around the building for cats to explore. Fenced "patios" allow cats and small animals to sit in the open air. Dogs are walked at least four times a day over the AWA's 12 acres. 

"But still, they're not in a home. ...The best place is the home," Houston said.