Clayton County’s new and long-awaited animal shelter is now open.  The more than 12,000-square-foot facility at 3199 Anvil Block Rd. in Ellenwood had its ribbon-cutting Saturday.

“The shelter is beautiful and we feel it is a step in the right direction,” Maria Dorough, a co-founding partner for the non-profit Partners for Pets, tells WSB.  She says however, the $3.3 million facility is smaller than she thought it would be, and would have liked for it to be closer to the current one – nearly 10 miles away in Jonesboro.

The shelter can hold up to 59 adult dogs, 26 puppies and 28 cats.  It will also serve as the administrative office for the county’s animal control unit.

The Chief Operating Officer for the county, Detrick Stanford tells the AJC Clayton officials are “still developing a plan of how we would use the old animal shelter in conjunction with the new one.”  Stanford says this new facility gives a better experience to the potential adopter.

Getting a new animal shelter facility for Clayton County has been a long road.  The county and animal rights groups have butted heads over accusations of poor conditions and mass killings at the old facility.  Stanford tells the AJC the county worked with animal groups to make sure the new place was user-friendly.

The Ellenwood shelter has room for more than 50 large animals.  Partners for Pets’ Dorough worries if it’s enough.  Another concern she has revolves around a majority of the roughly 4,000 dogs taken-in annually.  “80 percent are pit or pit mixes,” says Dorough.  “This breed is rescue only in Clayton County and not adopted out to the public. We hope that we can lobby for a change in Clayton County so that pit and pit mixes can be adopted once spayed or neutered.”

Money from a 2009 SPLOST paid for the new shelter.  But its opening was delayed till only this weekend due to a number of factors, including the recession a few years ago, delays in finding the best site, and changing county leaders.