Mission Viejo will provide animal services to five south OC cities

The city of Mission Viejo hosted a ceremony Tuesday to officially welcome the cities of Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills to the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center. The facility will be the second largest animal shelter in Orange County when the services begin January 1.

Mission Viejo Mayor Frank Ury along with Laguna Hills Mayor Barbara Kogerman and Rancho Santa Margarita Mayor Tony Beall joined colleagues and city staff for the ceremony.

The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center – a pro-humane, volunteer-driven facility – already partners with Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo to provide those services. With the addition of Laguna Hills and Rancho Santa Margarita, the facility will provide animal services to more than 300,000 South County residents.

"I am proud of the work the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center does each and every day to benefit thousands of animals and residents," said Mayor Frank Ury. "This shelter would not be the great facility it is without the volunteers, Dedicated Animal Welfare Group and the successful partnerships with the cities of Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, which also had the wisdom and foresight to break away from the county facility."

The center, its services and volunteers are highlighted in Mission Viejo Television's latest episode of "Mission Viejo Today."