FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — With over 55,000 square feet of space, Fulton County's new animal shelter is the breath of relief Lifeline animal staff said they've needed following months of dealing with an overcrowding crisis.
From cramming large dogs into small crates, to even housing up to nine dogs in one kennel at a time, the crisis has led to euthanasia at the facility for the first time in years.
Lifeline Animal Project spokesperson Tiki Artist said the past several months have been tough, "those animals were only staying there for up to a week at a time and the rest were being euthanized.”
The original animal shelter off Marietta Blvd. is over 40 years old and was designed only to hold up to 80 animals with a max of 150. For the last several months, the shelter has been inflexed with around 300 dogs at any given time.
Lifeline officials said the new shelter off of Fulton Industrial Boulevard can house up to 367 dogs, as well as dozens of cats, smaller animals, and livestock. Staff said all dogs currently have their own kennel space.
“The old facility was not designed for you to interact with the animal where as this facility you can sit in rooms and play with animals and there’s a lot more open space for the animals to play," explained Artist.
Officials said they hope the size of the shelter alone will be the remedy to the overcrowding crisis that Fulton County has faced, adding that they have no plans to use their old facility again in the future.
"This shelter is built with intention and we will be able to help move animals through the system more efficiently to better serve the community. But the answer remains the same that lifesaving is a function of the community, showing up to help adopt and foster. We'll never have enough kennels. But we have 350 in the system right now so we need now for the community to enjoy the new shelter and help us save lives," Artist said.