Lake County Commissioners, County Animal Shelter staff, volunteers, pets, community leaders, residents, supporters, just about every segment of the Lake County Community were at the site of the anticipated Lake County Animal Shelter to celebrate at the groundbreaking ceremony.
After being designated as a no-kill shelter in 2017, concerns about overcrowding were quickly recognized by Lake County Commissioners, who approved the new facility last year.
The new Lake County Animal Shelter, located at 12280 County Road 448 in Tavares, will have the necessary amount of space to temporarily house hundreds of dogs, cats, and other pets as they wait for adoption in the brand new 31,000-square-foot facility. It will feature an open-air cat porch, a dog viewing site, and an area where animals and their potential owners can get to know each other. The shelter, to be funded by Lake County’s penny sales tax, will also feature an education room, a surgery room, cat and dog isolation areas and adoption areas.
“After all of the commitment, dedication and hard work by so many over the past two years, it is extremely rewarding to be breaking ground on a new animal shelter. We reached our first goal in 2018 when we achieved the no-kill designation for our current shelter, and now we’re working to achieve our second goal of building a new shelter for the betterment of our animals and community,” said Chairman Leslie Campione. “It has been so heartwarming to see the lives of the animals and those who have adopted them, so I know this is going to really enhance that for future adopters.”
