DeKalb County To Get New, $8.6 Million Animal Shelter

DECATUR, GA -- DeKalb County will be getting a new animal shelter to replace one advocates have, for years, said needs to go.

The county commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to award an $8.6 million contract for a new shelter near DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. It will replace the shelter for homeless animals on Memorial Drive that has been the site of multiple health problems in recent years.

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, the current shelter had bug infestations and mold, according to a 2011 report.

Euthanasia rates for animals housed there soared to above 60% before the county began contracting out some shelter operations.

The new shelter will be built by Reeves & Young Construction of Suwanee. It is expected to take about a year to build it from the time the county gives the go-ahead but, the AJC reports, officials are still debating exactly where the $8.6 million will come from.