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SPCA Opens New Dallas Shelter

jillhudgins (cc) flickr

The SPCA of Texas opens its “new” doors today on I-30 just west of Hampton in Dallas. KERA’s BJ Austin says it’s a new seven acre campus that’s been in the works for more than 8 years.

In 2003, TxDOT, the Texas Department of Transportation, notified the SPCA it would have to eventually move from its Industrial Blvd address because an access ramp to the planned makeover of the downtown mixmaster would take most of that property.

SPCA of Texas President James Bias says they found a building to retro-fit, and now it’s a state of the art shelter. Glass enclosures replace cages with bars. There are outdoor playgrounds. Cats can sun themselves next to large windows. And there will be a new animal hospital that will care for the shelter animals, and offer veterinarian services to the community, as well. Just down the street, so to speak, is the Dallas Animal Shelter: I-30 and Westmoreland.

Bias: The hope is, and we’ve seen this across the country, that there’s going to be synergy by the two organizations being so close together, ultimately having an impact on the community’s animals and not just what’s under the SPCA’s roof, but more about what’s happening in the shelter community in general.

One of the recent happenings is a new task force by Dallas Animal Services to create a no-kill shelter. Some 20 thousand animals are euthanized at the Dallas shelter each year. Bias says the SPCA is a major partner in that no-kill effort, and he expects a lot of cooperation and referrals between the new neighbors in an effort to find good homes for both their shelter populations.

Former KERA reporter BJ Austin spent more than 25 years in broadcast journalism, anchoring and reporting in Atlanta, New York, New Orleans and Dallas. Along the way, she covered Atlanta City Hall, the Georgia Legislature and the corruption trials of Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.