Animals in Oklahoma City are one step closer to a state- of-the-art shelter as plans were recently unveiled for a new $42 million facility. “Once it is finished it will be one of the nicest—if not the nicest—municipal shelters in the country,” said Jon Gary, superintendent, Oklahoma City Animal Welfare. The new shelter was approved as part of MAPS 4, something Gary says is very special. “It shows our citizens believe it is important to increase the quality of life of the animals in our care.” The goal is to break ground by late summer/early fall 2024. and once underway, it is projected to be completed within 18 months. “Our community is going to love it,” added Gary. “It is worlds away from our current shelter and honestly, it just can’t get here fast enough.” As they began the design process for the new building, Gary relied on his 24 years of experience in animal welfare, a career that began in 1999 cleaning kennels at the OKC shelter. CHANGING THE CULTURE FOR ANIMALS IN OKLAHOMA CITY
Connolly Architects & Consultants, an Austin, Texas- based firm with a national reputation for excellence in animal welfare design was brought in to offer their expertise and ideas. “We laid out a vision of what we needed and wanted and HSEarchitects made it come to life,” he said. “There is so much about the new shelter that people will appreciate. It is gorgeous but also offers a more peaceful environment for animals, staff, and patrons.” Reducing stress for animals that arrive or are staying at the shelter was a top priority, so much of the design takes that into consideration. In addition, there will be both an adoption lobby and an intake lobby to cut down on lines and wait times, along with a larger indoor waiting room and a new outdoor waiting space. The new building will also have a much-needed meeting space for staff, but also for use by the community and local businesses. “We want this shelter to be a place where people want to come,” added Gary. The planning for the new shelter has set in motion a few changes at the current shelter, including the addition of a check-in system that allows people to wait in their car or nearby, ultimately reducing wait time. The new shelter will be constructed on the property where the current shelter is located, 17 acres near SE 29th and Bryant. The property did pose a few challenges due to the narrow and long configuration of the land, so the building was designed to accommodate the space. While the current entrance is off SE 29th, the new entrance will be to the east off Bryant. As with all MAPS projects, a significant piece of artwork will be a part of the new building. Though the design isn’t finalized, Gary’s hope is it will highlight the bond between humans and animals. “We want the artwork to be meaningful and create excitement and increased involvement in animal welfare.” With all the upgrades and changes, Gary cautions the new shelter won’t fix all the problems facing animals in our community. “This new facility is desperately needed, and the community agreed, but Oklahoma City has a severe pet overpopulation problem. It will take work to continue to educate our citizens, increase adoptions and reduce intake,” he said. “The building shows we are serious about animal welfare, but people need to understand this is culture shift on how we can all do better in taking care of animals.”
As of April 3, Oklahoma City Animal Welfare was at 121% of capacity with dogs.
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