GREENSBORO, N.C. — We've learned the new Guilford County Animal Shelter will hold a larger number of animals than was originally announced.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners met with shelter leaders Thursday to discuss a pending item from last month's meeting. Commissioners approved a $649,000 proposal for additional design services with PNP Design Group, which came out of the shelter's already funded budget.
Shelter director Jorge Ortega also presented board members the next steps in the process to build the new facility, including previews of what the building could look like.
When it came to holding capacity, Ortega presented a higher number to the board than he'd originally announced. He previously said the shelter's capacity would be around 335, but at the meeting, he said the number was 510.
In an interview, the director says there was some confusion in how the numbers were presented.
"When we would say capacity, we weren't talking about animal capacity, we were talking about enclosures," he said.
So what's the difference? One enclosure does not equal a single animal. If needed, animals of the same species, age and size could split a cage. The 510 includes emergency enclosures that'd be added in case of overcrowding.
"I was trying to make things a little bit more clear yesterday on really focusing on the number of enclosures and how that number of enclosures impacted our animal capacity, how many animals we can actually hold in the facility humanely," Ortega says.
If all goes to plan, construction could start as early as February next year. The schedule presented to commissioners shows the new shelter completed by May 2021.
