KALAMAZOO, MI -- The days of raucous barking, limited work space and a foul smell greeting him at the door are over for Kalamazoo County Animal Services Director Steve Lawrence.

After working for 17 years in the previous Kalamazoo County Animal Services and Enforcement facility, Lawrence had a running list of much-needed improvements when the department moved out of the 34-year-old shelter facility.

Officials broke ground on Sept. 5, 2018, after Kalamazoo County allocated $5 million in its 2017 budget to design and build a new shelter. The total cost came under budget at $4.8 million, according to a county press release.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the county opened the doors to the new 16,510-square-foot facility. With more than double the room, the county can now house a maximum of 106 dogs and 74 cats, according to a county press release.

The new location sits on 6.3 acres, at 1316 Lamont St., between the current animal services facility and the county sheriff’s office. Adoptable dogs now have space to walk with volunteers, meet potential families and be trained by Western Michigan University behavioral psychology students.

The facility has two entrances, one for residents looking for stray pets and the other for those looking to adopt. Physically dividing those two functions of the facility will prevent disease from spreading between animals and from visitors to animals, Lawrence said.

Additionally, the new building has a conference room that will be utilized by employees for training, community members for educational programs and animal rescue nonprofits for meetings, Lawrence said.

The extra square footage also gives employees and volunteers their own space, Lawrence said. In the previous shelter, booking, grooming, vaccinations and laundry all happened in one room.

The newly opened facility is staffed by 16 workers, but Lawrence is actively looking for volunteers to help feed, play with and clean up after animals. Those interested can leave their name and number at the front desk, the director said.

“It helps people have ownership over this building and what happens to the animals in their community," Lawrence said.

When Lawrence first started as an animal services officer, the county’s policy was animals were automatically euthanized after seven days.

Removing that policy in addition to stressing spay and neutering and mircochipping and licensing have helped lower the rates, Lawrence said.

Last year, the annual report noted in the “optional” comment box that 94% of the “adoptable animals” brought in at the shelter were saved. Of the adoptable animals that received care at the shelter, only 6% were euthanized.

However, the shelter does inevitably house animals that are not fit to be pets, Lawrence said.

“Aggression is the biggest" factor, he said.

“If we have a dog that wants to eat your face off I’m not going to release it and then read the next day that an animal that was adopted out injured a child or something," Lawrence said.

The shelter also provides euthanasia services for owners who request to put down their pets.

The 2018 annual report states 459 dogs, 656 cats and one ferret were euthanized in 2018, for a total of 1,116 animals. Of those euthanized, 53 percent were at the request of the animal’s owner.

Utilizing the new facility’s conference room, animal services wants to invite the public into the new shelter for educational programs on how to socialize and train pets. Learning these skills could also help curb the number of residents surrendering animals they cannot care for, he said.

Adoptable animals can also play with visitors in “real life” rooms with couches and benches to let potential families see shelter animals in a home environment. The shelter plans to use the rooms to feature a pet of the day in the future, Lawrence said.

Adoption hours at the shelter from from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except on Wednesdays, when the shelter remains open later, until 7 p.m.