A Kansas City animal shelter once plagued by disease and overcrowding is making strides. The Kansas City Pet Project says after one week of operating the facility, it has overcome some major milestones.

The board president and the executive director say they’re hoping to avoid some of the challenges that have plagued this facility in years past. On January 1, the kansas City Pet Project took over the Kansas City Animal Shelter on Raytown Road.

One week later, the shelter says they’ve adopted out 165 animals.

“We get about a 130 animals in a week and we don’t get to pick and choose which ones we get,” said KC Pet Project president Brent Toellner.”It’s obviously a high turnover for the shelter to have to adopt a lot of animals out to a lot of different homes.”

Brent Toellner says they have to keep that momentum going by offering periodic reduced adoption fees, off site adoption programs and extended adoption hours.

“Our goal is to maximize the number of animals that leave here safely,” said Toellner. “Ideally, it would come a no kill goal where no animal that is healthy or treatable is euthanized.”

Toellner says his team has changed how the facility is cleaned to avoid kennel cough and other diseases that are easily spread from one animal to another. He says they’ve even made suggestions to the city on how to clean animal control vehicles to prevent the spread of disease, too.

In addition to that, the shelter now vaccinates animals immediately on intake before they’re placed in the shelter.
Megan Milan brought her son to the shelter to find a four legged friend.

“It saves an animal and gives us a friend,” Milan-Woods Hieghts said. “We usually get our dogs when we get one from a place like this cause they’re usually mixed and they’re smarter.”

Her six-year-old son Brody Milan is ready to take a cutie home. He has big plans for his new pet.

“Play fetch with them and make a bed for them and be happy with them,” said Brody Milam Woods-Heights.

For adoption information go to kcpetproject.org.