Elizabeth Orosco
Northeast News

The Kansas City Campus for Animal Care is officially open as of Wednesday, January 1.

The 53,000-square-foot campus will allow the humane housing of thousands of animals and features modern and “fear-free” housing separated by species, outdoor “catios” for the cats to have fresh air, a state-of-the-art veterinary clinic, an Education Pavilion, coffeeshop, and much more.

The previous shelter at 4400 Raytown Road had the capacity to house around 400 animals.

In the new space, they will have the capability to house and care for over 10,000 pets a year as well as offer various programming and events.

“We have a lot of plans for public services, vaccination clinics, microchip clinics, and other services,” Tori Fugate, chief communications officer of KC Pet Project told the Northeast News in a recent interview. “We do see a lot of animals come in from that area, so we will be able to help the citizens and residents of that area and help the animals that live in that area, as well.”

KC Pet Project was the only organization who submitted a full proposal to the Kansas City City Council, who then unanimously voted to hand over all animal control operations to the organization.

That agreement authorized the design and construction of the new animal care campus and allocated $18 million in KC GO bond funding to the facility project account.

In addition to the City’s contribution, over $5 million in cash commitments from the private sector have been raised and almost $5 million in pro bono services toward the construction of the Kansas City Campus for Animal Care.

The city also recently outsourced animal control operations to KC Pet Project after a 2017 audit highlighted areas that needed resolution.

The audit revealed that two-thirds of animals impounded in Kansas City for cruelty or neglect violations were not reclaimed by the owners. Writing citations “failed to ensure compliance as pet owners can simply pay for citations without fixing the violation”, the audit stated.

All current Animal Control officers will have an opportunity to interview with KC Pet Project said Fugate. If they choose not to, they will still have placement with the city and will not lose their city employment.

“January 1st is a significant date for our organization as it is the anniversary of the day that we assumed operations of the Kansas City, MO animal shelter 8 years ago in 2012,” said Teresa Johnson, President/CEO of KC Pet Project in a recent release.

The Campus will offer a broad range of programs and services that define the standard of care for animal welfare in America, and will impact the lives of more than 25,000 Kansas City families annually.

An official official grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Kansas City Campus for Animal Care will be held Friday, January 24th at 9 a.m.