DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) – After decades of serving lost and abandoned animals, Dothan’s Animal Shelter is outdated.
“It is not adequate to meet the needs of this community, the people that work there are some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met, and they are so dedicated to the pets, however they just do not have the resources that they need to really do what we need to do for this community,” explains Rachel Smith, Executive Director of Wiregrass Pet and Adoption Center.
Several years ago, Dothan City and Houston County recognized the urgent need for a new shelter.
Wiregrass Pet Rescue and Adoption Center will be built on Highway 52 W, right beside Eye Surgical Associates.
“This shelter is going to cost 8.5 million dollars to build, but it really will be state-of-the-art,” expresses Smith. “It’ll have new HVAC systems and new plumbing systems”
The non-profit will rescue and shelter pets with the goal of finding loving homes for all.
“That is a huge piece of this puzzle,” continues Smith. “The other piece is really community centric programming. We’re gonna do everything that we can to provide resources for people that can’t keep their pets.”
Open seven days a week, volunteers of all ages are encouraged to keep the pets some company.
“It’s gonna have a lot of indoor sheltering, whereas in the past we didn’t have that before,” explains Mark Saliba, Mayor of Dothan. “It’ll have a little walking trail to where the dogs can be walked regularly outside.”
A win-win for pets and the community.
“I think this is an opportunity for all the animal lovers, and that’s a lot of us out there, to take part into a new endeavor,” finishes Saliba.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be on Tuesday, August 23rd at 9 am.
Community members and their pets are invited to attend.
The non-profit is looking for support through donations, more details are on their website: https://wiregrasspetrescue.org/.
The open date for the center is expected sometime in 2024.
Copyright 2022 WTVY. All rights reserved.
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