This sounds like a wonderful new home for the stray critters of our community.
Capital eyes a showplace shelter for its animals
The new $25 million structure would be warm, welcoming - and a big step up from current facility.
By Ed Fletcher - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Dogs of most every description -- big, small, brown, black, tan -- came to life as a group of young women walked the hallways of Sacramento County's animal shelter during a recent midday.
As one got his nose rubbed, others -- fenced in by chain link -- barked incessantly, their yelps bouncing off the concrete floors and cinder block walls.
Despite the efforts of staff members and volunteers, the facility, built in the 1960s to store stray animals, doesn't create an ideal environment for families looking to add pets to the fold, said George Miers, an architect who has built a reputation for changing the face of animal shelters.
"It's just a very frenetic environment," he said.
Miers has been hired to design a new shelter for Sacramento County, one more friendly to animals, consumers and staff. The $25 million structure is slated to go up not far from the existing Bradshaw Road shelter.
As designed, the new facility would encompass 40,000 square feet that includes classroom space. The property also would house a barn for large animals and a 2-acre dog park.
Roughly $6 million of the facility's construction costs will come from the county's share of state proceeds from tobacco litigation, the rest through county-issued bonds.
If everything goes smoothly, the facility could be completed by the end of 2008, officials said.
