Tour Mahoning County's new dog pound from 11 to 3 Saturday

AUSTINTOWN

Dogs in the custody of the Mahoning County Dog Warden will begin moving to a new home Monday.

Mahoning County commissioners cut the ribbon on a new $4 million dog shelter at 1230 N. Meridian Road today. The facility was open for tours until 3 p.m. today and will be again from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday.

Dog Warden Dianne Fry became tearful as she thanked the community for the effort that went into constructing the 14,000-square-foot building.

“This has been nothing but a work of love,” Fry said.

The county’s need had outgrown the 9,000-square-foot shelter on Industrial Road, which Fry said was designed in 1978 to hold 22 dogs for three days until they could be euthanized.

Advocates have changed the way communities treat animals, and the new shelter can accommodate between 80 and 90 dogs with separate areas to move them from intake to adoption.

The previous shelter did not have a place to safely keep puppies and small dogs away from larger dogs, but the new shelter does. It also features an outdoor exercise area so dogs can run around free from a leash.

“We’ve moved into the 21st century with a modern-day dog shelter,” Commissioner Anthony Traficanti said.

Diane Less, co-founder of Angels for Animals, said the new shelter will allow the county to do direct adoptions.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “We can get dogs adopted into permanent, loving homes.”

Read more about the new facility in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.