Wake County unveils newly expanded animal shelter

Animal center leaders also announced that they are offering a reduced adoption fee of $25 until Saturday, thanks to sponsorships from local citizens and businesses.

The shelter expansion will allow Wake County to fulfill its agreement to house animals from the city of Raleigh and towns of Garner and Cary. When Raleigh begins delivering animals to the Wake County animal shelter on July 1 there will be consolidated sheltering countywide.

The expansion is approximately 6,700-square-feet and includes the addition of 84 new dog holding units, 75 new cat holding units and building system improvements for the existing dog holding areas.

The shelter has a total capacity of 218 dog kennels and 175 cat kennels or approximately 18,000 animals per year – an increase of 50 percent.

Shelter leaders say they hope the changes will make it easier to adopt a pet or find a missing animal. The expansion now frees the Wake County SPCA to focus on preventing unwanted animals and helping find homes for pets at the shelter.

“It's fantastic, it's gorgeous (and) it’s very open. People want to stay longer, and that means they're more likely to go home with an animal,” said shelter volunteer Gab Wladyka.

The newly expanded center is more than a place to adopt pets. All of Wake County's found animals will also come to the building.

“We take a picture of all our animals and put them on our website so that you can take a look, within half an hour usually,” Wladyka said.