New animal control services are underway in Fresno County, but for now, those services are limited.
The county's contract with a private company started Monday, after it's 50 year partnership with the SPCA expired.
It's Day 1 of new animal control services in Fresno County.
Henry Perea, County Supervisor says, "I'm feeling good. We made a commitment to the public to be ready October 1st to receive animals that needed services from the county and we're getting it done."
Liberty Animal Control Services took over the county's contract Monday. But the shelter is not yet ready to take in animals.
Daniel Bailey, President, Liberty Animal Control Services says, "A lot of the things were dropped on us with the animals and stuff and we're trying to do the best we can with what limited time we have."
Crews scrambled to install dog kennels, fences, and electricity at the old county morgue. For now, services will be limited.
Bailey says, "Right now we're doing emergencies only, you know vicious animals, dog bites and stuff like that to keep the public safe. "
Dangerous and sick dogs are being housed at the Country Veterinarian Clinic in Clovis. Officials say they won't be picking up stray animals until the shelter is complete.
"We're asking the public please don't overload us in these first few days until we can get things going," says Bailey.
Once it's up and running, the facility will be able to house more than 100 animals at a time. A medical trailer and an administrative office is also on site.
County Supervisor Henry Perea says this temporary fix also saves a lot of money.
Perea says, "We had a million dollar contract with the SPCA. This is costing us $750,000, so it's a quarter of a million dollars savings for the county."
Bailey says, "This is a chance for us to make a difference. We are privately owned so we might have more ways of moving animals than government does that maybe our hands wouldn't have so much red tape on helping to move these animals much faster, so we're not holding them for a long period of time."
Officials tell us the facility will be ready to start housing animals Tuesday morning. As for strays, that might take another few days. Rescue groups will be taking care of those animals until then.
County officials say this is just a short-term shelter until a state of the art facility can be built.
TXT 24
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