South Jordan boasts new cutting-edge animal shelter

SOUTH JORDAN — Goodbye, two-car garage with stinky air and crowded quarters.

South Jordan's lost animals now have a new, $1.4 million building to call their home away from home, and with filtered air, radiant heating in the concrete floor and expandable kennels, it's cutting edge.

"I can honestly say this is the best facility in the whole valley," South Jordan Police Chief Lindsay Shepherd said at the shelter's grand opening on Tuesday. "We are very excited to have this in South Jordan."

The new shelter, located at 10882 S. Park Road, in the city's park, is the third generation of animal shelters in South Jordan, Shepherd said. The first shelter was built by the police force in 1984, but at 80 square feet, with room for only 4 animal stalls, it was replaced by a bigger, 800-square-foot shelter in 2001.

The slightly bigger shelter was housed in a two-car garage, but it was leveled half a year ago to make room for a new city building. The new shelter is 4,800 square feet, which is big enough to handle the city's needs at buildout, Shepherd said.

There are 22 stalls for dogs, 22 separate stalls for cats, nine kennels for quarantined cats, four similar kennels for dogs, processing rooms and an area for large animals, like horses. There's also a special room for exotic pets, such as snakes, and an area for visitors to get to know animals they might adopt.

In the event of an emergency, the shelter could hold more than 80 animals, with more than one animal in each kennel, Shepherd said. The extra space also allows the city to make animals available for adoption longer than is required.

City officials attended a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the facility on Tuesday, though the shelter has been in operation for about three weeks.

"To me, this is a work of compassion," said Councilwoman Leona Winger. "I think South Jordan is leading the way in showing this compassion."

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