Humane Society of Mercer County has asked the Farrell Zoning Hearing Board for permission to build a complex in Farrell for an office, kennel and retail store.

The board will hear the request at 4 p.m. Friday at the city building.

The property is in a commercial zone and the zoning ordinance does not specifically address kennels, said zoning officer Mark Yerskey. The society has asked the zoning hearing board for an interpretation and variance.

The board will decide if a kennel fits the zone. If it does not, the board could grant a variance to allow construction.

The society, which enforces laws on the abuse, cruelty and neglect of animals and offers animals for adoption, wants to put up the building on four lots owned by society President Rick Harakal at Roemer Boulevard and Fruit Avenue in Farrell.

The society sold its previous office and kennel in Jefferson Township about a year ago because the cost of repairs was too high, he said.

The society has been working without an office and using area kennels, veterinary offices and the Shenango Valley Animal Shelter to keep animals, he said.

Harakal said he has agreed to sell the land across the street from his notary service and car repair shop to the society "real cheap" on a land contract, and would be lenient about when payments would be made.

The Farrell site would be centrally located for the society workers and board members, Harakal said.

"Even though we're county-wide, most of us that are involved live in the Farrell, Sharon, West Middlesex area," he said.

The society proposes building a two-story structure on a sloped parcel, with the top measuring 40 by 80, and the bottom 40 by 40, Harakal said.

The kennel would be enclosed, which should head off many possible complaints from neighbors.

"The first thing you think of when you hear 'kennel' is howling at the moon and pooping all over the place," Yerskey said.

The store would sell specialty animal-related products, but not pet food or other pet store-type products, Harakal said.

The site also would give the society a visibility it did not have with its out-in-the-country shelter in Jefferson.

"We need a main road," Harakal said.

The kennel would help the society in its mission to help non-wild animals and head off the necessity of euthanizing them.

"Once we have a big shelter, I plan on taking lots of animals from the animal shelter before they put them to sleep," Harakal said.

Harakal said the society tends to euthanize only seriously ill or old animals.

A dog that was seriously

"We have over $1,000 tied up in this dog already," he said. "When he's done, we'll put him up for adoption for $75. This dog is just too nice to put him to sleep."

If the society had to hire someone to build the structure as planned, it would cost $150,000, Harakal estimated, but donated materials and labor will bring the cost way down.

"All I have to do is find somebody with excavating equipment to do the digging for us," he said, adding the society has collected donations in a building fund.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at

jpinchot@sharonherald.com