Animal Services expands facility
Lee County Animal Services is expanding its shelter space so they can expand the help provided to the community.
Construction has already begun on the 10,000-square-foot expansion, which will bring their total space to 27,000 square feet.
Spokeswoman Ria Brown said the expansion is not aimed at taking in more animals, but instead addressing the ongoing problems with the animal population.
“We don’t want to keep building bigger buildings so we can house more animals, we want to reduce the population,” she said. “That’s our focus right now.”
County commissioners recently approved the expansion, which Brown said will cost $2.7 million. The expansion will boast two brand new entrances, one for incoming animals, one for surgery, and the current entrance will be used solely for adoptions.
The new surgery entrance will, of course, lead to LCAS’s new clinic, which Brown said will be critical to performing all the adoption surgeries, low-cost public assistance surgeries, and their new Trap-Neuter-Return program surgeries. She said their current clinic has neither the space nor the convenience to accommodate their growing surgical needs.
“The clinic we have right now is not adequate, especially for our spay and neuter programs,” Brown said. “We’ve maxed out every square inch of space.”
Some of the changes were made with suggestions in mind from officials with the University of Florida, who toured the facility last year. Brown said it was also crucial to separate all of their services with various entrances as way to streamline the process.
She said their current lobby is often hectic.
“Our lobby is like a little bottle neck,” Brown said.
Expansion is expected to be completed early next year.
With kitten season here, Brown also said the shelter is in desperate need of cat food for their pet pantry.
Donations are accepted during all operating hours, and can also be dropped off by the shelter’s current front door during hours when they are not open for business. The shelter is at 5600 Banner Drive, Fort Myers.
Call 533-PETS for more information.