GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) -- Monday started the week-long process of moving hundreds of animals to their temporary home at the Guilford County Animal Resource Center.
Some of the cats and dogs left the more than 50-year-old shelter off West Wendover Avenue to arrive at their new location on Guilford College Road.
The 33,000-square-foot space gives them the opportunity to create resources that help humans interact with potential companions and futuristically provide summer training camps for young people to learn how to care for animals.
It certainly makes it more comfortable for the animals housed here too.
The state-of-the-art facility has Animal Services Director Jorge Ortega hoping they'll be a trendsetter in the animal services community for the whole state.
“This is going to be a huge, huge change for Guilford County,” Ortega said.
Change is what this next chapter is about for the people and the animals they care for at the Guilford County Animal Resources Center.
Monday, workers moved roughly 200 cats and dogs to the new location on Guilford College Road.
“Today kicks off the excitement and all the anxiety that’s been building for years to get us here,” Ortega said.
It’s because the old property located on West Wendover Avenue was due for an upgrade as parts of the building were built in the 1960s.
“Compared to the dark, dingy facility that’s also falling apart, we’ll be able to provide the dogs and cats under our care much better care here,” Ortega said.
The building will have a brand-new medical center stocked with an X-ray machine. It will have abilities to house all the medical supplies in one area.
“Here, the medical facility is dead smack in the middle of our shelter of the building. So, the team is there. They can back up the veterinarian,” Ortega said.
Ortega said it allows them to better serve the animals by reducing their stay and pointing them in the direction of the center’s ultimate goal: finding them a forever family.
Speaking of family, there’ll be perks for their human companions too. Providing an artificial turf playground for man and his or her new best friend to get to know one another.
“We can be an example for other agencies and other governments to say well, how did Guilford do it? And maybe we should go talk with Guilford,” Ortega said. “I think that's how we slowly start changing animal welfare in North Carolina.”
Ortega hopes to hold summer camps for young people in hopes of teaching them how to properly treat and care for animals.
He also hopes to hire another veterinarian soon.
They hope to provide adoptions at the new location during the first week of November.
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