A large crowd gathered Wednesday for a tour and ribbon cutting ceremony for the City of Odessa’s new $8.3 million animal services facility.
Mayor Javier Joven, Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke and Interim City Manager Agapito Bernal spoke about the new state-of-the-art facility, which will open April 11 and replace the city’s 30-year-old facility, which will close permanently Thursday.
The facility doubles the number of kennels currently available to house cats and dogs to 231, improves the ventilation system to lessen the likelihood of diseases spreading and provides an enhanced drainage system.
City officials have said the additional kennels should aid in decreasing the number of pets that are euthanized annually for other reasons aside from illness.
According to records obtained from the city under the Texas Public Information Act, just over 6,700 cats and dogs were euthanized from 2019-2021.
Joven told the crowd the new facility is the first step in addressing the city’s animal population issues, but the community needs to step up and spay and neuter their pets.
Bernal, who began his public service career in animal control, called Wednesday a “wow moment.” He noted how people treat their animals says a lot about a community.
Joven, Gerke and Bernal gave their thanks to community volunteers, animal rescue groups, advisory board members, city staff and councils past and present for their devotion to the community’s animals and the new facility.
