HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Annise Parker unveiled design plans for a new adoption center at BARC Tuesday. BARC is the City of Houston's animal shelter and adoption facility.
The plan consists of of several phases.
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The first phase will be funded by $4.1 million of Capital Improvement Project.
BARC and the Houston BARC Foundation will launch a Capital Campaign to finance the remaining phases with private funds.
The first phase of the BARC Adoption Center will include a new parking lot and driveways, welcome lobby with free roaming cat display windows, two dog adoption suites, and a nursery for young dogs available for adoption.
Phase I will also include areas for animals to exercise and for pets to get acquainted with potential adopting families.
"One of my administration's priorities is to improve the quality of life in our city. Part of improving the quality of life for Houston means ensuring that formerly homeless animals have proper shelter without being a nuisance in our neighborhoods," said Parker.
Estimates indicate there are more than 300,000 stray or abandoned dogs and cats throughout Houston.
BARC's current average intake of dogs and cats is nearly 100 per day.