TROY — Adding space to care for cats and dogs will cost a local shelter millions of dollars.
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The Miami County Animal Shelter is looking to double the shelter’s size and add some much-needed upgrades. The upgrades would be the shelter’s first since it opened in 1971.
“The new shelter will almost double our capacity,” Robert Craft, Director of the Miami County Animal Shelter, said. “It’s double the square footage of the existing shelter, so we will have much more housing area for both dogs and cats.”
The new building would increase the square footage from just over 6,000 square feet to nearly 13,000 square feet. It would also create spots for fifteen additional dogs and 10 more cats, which would help with the shelter’s problem with overcrowding.
“We already had over 30 dogs in our shelter and we took 36 dogs in one day,” Craft said, noting it was difficult to find a place to put them.
He said that was the most dogs he’s seen in the shelter since he started in 2021.
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During the winter, animals housed at the shelter are subjected to cold temperatures. The new building would have heat and air conditioning routed directly to the animals. There would also be electric garage doors that open and close depending on the weather.
“We will also have a vet clinic that will be able to do more services for the community, such as low-cost spay and neutering,” Craft said.
The clinic will be brand new to the shelter. As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, Craft said other shelters that have one saw a 50 percent decrease in animal intakes.
“They’re able to get dogs and cats spayed or neutered before they have more unwanted litters of animals. And so that’s how it ends up cutting the population,” he said.
They’ve raised over $1 million so far, but need more than $7.5 million for the project. Craft said there are several ways to donate and most are tax exempt.
You can donate here.
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