LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Clark County Commissioners unanimously voted to take another step towards building a supplemental animal shelter at their Tuesday morning meeting.
The county agreed to start the design process for the new shelter with architecture firm TSK Architects.
WATCH| Guy Tannenbaum reports the latest on the new animal shelter planned for the southwest
Channel 13 reached out to local animal advocate Bryce Henderson to get his reaction to the news.
"It's a huge win for Las Vegas and all of our animals," he said.
“We are excited to advance this important project, which will help address the increasing animal population of Clark County,” said Michael Naft, Chair of the Clark County Commission. “Our supplemental shelter will add capacity while also decentralizing sheltering services. In partnership with Animal Arts, a team of professionals focused on animal well-being and shelter operations, the design process will move forward proficiently to help meet the needs of our community.”
The new $39 million animal shelter will be located near Tropicana and the 215 Beltway, and will be nearly 45,000 square feet with a capacity of about 650 animals.
Henderson says that will make a huge difference in the lives of local animals and pet owners.
"That means there's going to be more spaces open at the Animal Foundation," Henderson said. "It just means they're going to have more time to find a new home or find their current owners, so that could mean thousands of lives saved every year."
Clark County currently contracts with the Animal Foundation to serve as its main shelter, but Henderson says our population boom in Southern Nevada has made adding another shelter a necessity.
"It'd been 29 years since any new open admission shelter space had been built, so it was long overdue," Henderson said. "Over 800,000 people have moved here in that time period, yet no new shelter space had opened — the municipalities just weren't keeping up with demand."
Channel 13 reached out to the Animal Foundation to get their thoughts on the new shelter, and a spokesperson sent this statement in response:
"At the Animal Foundation, we’re grateful for every investment in animal welfare in our community. As the only open-admission shelter in the area, we’re often overcrowded, taking in nearly 90 animals a day, far more than we have space for. That kind of overcrowding creates serious challenges for our staff and the animals in our care."
Clark County officials say they're targeting an August 2028 opening date for the new shelter.
