The Town of Hope will have a grand opening Thursday for the new animal shelter named in honor of the former president of the Town Council.

The ceremony for the Paula A. Pollitt Memorial Animal Shelter will be held Thursday starting at 11 a.m. at the new shelter on Jackson Street in Hope. Pollitt died in 2015. She was an avid animal lover and helped organize the therapy dog program at Columbus Regional Hospital.

The town has refurbished an unused well house to be an animal shelter, adding kennels, outdoor runs and doggy doors to the building. The Town Council voted last year to name the new shelter in Pollitt’s memory.