The dogs and cats won’t arrive until later this month, but there were plenty of people buzzing the halls of OC Animal Care’s new headquarters in Tustin last week, prepping it to fully open for operation on March 25.

The county animal shelter’s new $35 million home will see staff and animals spirited away from their run-down facility in Orange and into the state-of-the-art Tustin campus that is equipped with proper surgical suites, air-conditioned kennels, play areas and much more.

Sondra Berg, spokeswoman for OC Animal Care, said the age of the group’s original home in Orange, established in 1941, had long presented challenges for the staff. The shelter had limited space and worn-down equipment had made daily operations difficult, she said.

The new $35 million OC Animal Care facility in Tustin will include housing for exotic animals, inside kennels with heated floors and air conditioning, an outside play area for cats, 3 surgical suites and stress reducing features like noise-reducing walls. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Sondra Berg, manager for the OC Animal Care center, shows off a new cat housing feature — the two-level pass through.The $35 million Tustin facility will be opening soon.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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The new $35 million OC Animal Care facility in Tustin will include housing for exotic animals, inside kennels with heated floors and air conditioning, an outside play area for cats, 3 surgical suites and stress reducing features like noise-reducing walls. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Sondra Berg, manager for the OC Animal Care center, in one of the 3 surgical suites in Tustin on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2018.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

One of several play yards for dogs is part of the new $35 million OC Animal Care facility in Tustin on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2018.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)



The new $35 million OC Animal Care facility in Tustin features different dog units that will be manned by two employees who are familiar with the animals to make adoption an easier process for the public. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Workers ready the new OC Animal Care center in Tustin on Wednesday, Feb 28, 2018.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“We’ve been in maintenance mode for probably the last 20 years, just putting Band-Aids on things to try to keep going,” Berg said. “It’s been very much a challenge, we really had to think outside the box.”

That’s all looking to flip on its head when the team moves in to its new base.

The cat’s meow

The new campus, 1630 Victory Road, Tustin, is significantly larger than OC Animal Care’s former offices, which has allowed the team to cleanly divide up services throughout the new home.

There are now separate areas for animal drop-offs, adoptions, reception, treatment and even grieving. Cages and kennels have been completely overhauled – in terms of both equipment and location – to make staying at the shelter as low-stress as possible for the animals, officials said.

Until now, the group’s only option for surgery was in a converted office space, but now staff can work within three surgery suites equipped with the latest technology.

At the old site, all of the dog kennels were kept outside. Now, every cage and kennel is in a sound-proof, air conditioned room with liberal use of glass throughout to keep all the animals visible no matter where staff are working – a major challenge at the old headquarters, Berg said.

Cats at the new shelter will stay in mid-sized “cat condos” with an upper shelf and tunnels leading to a separate space for their litter box, keeping them both clean and comfortable during their stay. Dogs have a gate in their kennels connecting to an outside area, allowing them to enjoy fresh air or stay in the air conditioning at their leisure.

There are plenty of chances for play as well. Cats can claw their troubles away by climbing on a number of indoor “catios,” and dogs can frolic in one of eight grassy play pens around the campus.

Whether visitors are dropping off a wounded animal or looking to adopt a pet, the process should be much smoother at OC Animal Care’s new home, officials said. A higher level of organization will cut down wait times dramatically, Berg said, and each kennel will be attended by at least two staffers intimately familiar with each animal under their care.

A fresh start

Despite the new digs, a lot will be staying the same for OC Animal Care. All the animals will start moving from the old facility on March 12, and city contracts won’t be changing immediately. It will be at least two years before any new cities can jump on board. The cost of the new shelter was shared between the county and the cities that use the service.

The old Orange facility will completely shut down on the 19th – it is still undecided what will become of the property, Berg said.

The shelter group will continue operating the same programs, which include kitten bottle-feeding, a trap-neuter-release program for feral cats, rehabilitation for aggressive dogs, partnerships with local vets for emergency surgery and more. Thanks to the new space, Berg said these programs will likely soon be expanded and added to.

A big factor of the move is the chance to get a fresh start and show people what OC Animal Care can do when it isn’t held back by limited space and aging equipment, Berg said.

“It really does provide us with so many opportunities to let people know who we really are,” she said. “We’ve not done that at the old facility, but I think a lot of that came about because we had so many challenges over there just simply trying to get by day to day.”

Berg also said this is a chance to move beyond a stigma that hovered over OC Animal Care at its old home: that too many animals were euthanized. Also the chaos of the old facility cause by so many programs operating in a small space gave the impression, she said, animals weren’t being cared for.

With space limitations now cast off, Berg said she hopes that will soon change.

“What is the best set of circumstances we can give these animals while they’re here in our care? We didn’t have that at the old facility, and it did make it look like we weren’t caring for animals. That’s very hurtful on a certain level, because all of us who work here in animal care are here because we love animals. We have animals of our own – we have their best interests at heart,” Berg said.

“Now you’re going to see us shine. You’re going to see what we’re really all about. We really are all about the care of animals – finding them new homes, giving them the best options possible. I think that’s really going to come out through the programs we’re going to be able to reflect that through.”

OC Animal Care’s Tustin headquarters will have a grand opening for the public on March 24. No adoptions will be held that day, but those looking to add a furry addition to the family can visit starting March 25.

By the numbers

10-acre property

30,000-square-foot main building

6 stand-alone kennel buildings covering an additional 16,000 square feet

$35 million cost

14 contract cities

Cities served

Anaheim

Brea

Cypress

Fountain Valley

Fullerton

Villa Park

Huntington Beach

Tustin

Lake Forest

Orange

Placentia

Yorba Linda

San Juan Capistrano

Santa Ana (Shelter Services Only)

County’s unincorporated areas