Design and features provide a premium adoption process to find animals loving homes; facility named after former Deputy Supervisor Ellen McVeety
Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer, Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez and the rest of the Town Board joined dozens of residents and activists to celebrate the grand opening of the new Babylon Animal Shelter in Amityville. The new shelter is both animal and human friendly due to its featured that will foster a safe and clean environment for dogs and cats to increase their adoptability.
“The opening of this beautiful facility has been a long time coming,” said Supervisor Schaffer. “The staff and volunteers at our animal shelter are incredibly dedicated. They deserve the best working environment possible as they assist these animals and our residents,” he added.
The facility, which mostly houses cats and dogs, has unique features for both. Cats have free roam from their spacious living quarters to an outdoor cat porch where they can lay in the sun and interact with one another. Unlike the old shelter, dog kennels do not face each other and are in a room behind angled, mirrored glass that let prospective adopters see in without the dogs being disturbed. A dozen individual air conditioning systems ensure that cats and dogs are not exposed to the same air, which reduces the risk of the spread of disease and results in them not knowing the other is in the building, keeping them calmer.
“Every feature of this facility was thoroughly discussed and planned out, with the health and well-being of our staff and the animals always being the number one concern,” said shelter director Chris Elton. “Everything that was put into this building is going to help us care and find homes for more animals than ever,” he added.
In addition to the amenities dedicated to the quality of life for animals, the facility features a modern lobby with natural lighting, a welcoming entrance to greet future adopters and a dedicated play room for potential adopters to get to know their new pet.
“So many Town of Babylon employees and outside contractors collaborated on this project to ensure the best possible facility was built,” said Deputy Supervisor Martinez. “I tip my hat to them for all of their hard work, which obviously has paid off,” he added.
The Babylon Animal Shelter currently has roughly 50 cats and 50 dogs up for adoption. Last year, 243 dogs and 322 cats were adopted. For more information about the shelter, Like the “Babylon Animal Shelter” on Facebook.