Repainting kennels in the new Fulton County Animal Services building, which began in late March and was expected to be done in June, may not be completed until December — and county officials won’t say why the work is dragging on at the chronically overcrowded shelter.
The $40 million facility opened in December, but in March the county acknowledged that paint in seven areas of the dog kennels was “bubbling up” and needed to be redone. The problem was probably caused by moisture during the initial painting, not the paint itself, county spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said at the time. The work was still under warranty so it would not cost the county anything extra, she said then.
But Corbitt also said in March that repainting should be done by June, perhaps even ahead of schedule.
In June and July, however, LifeLine Animal Project — which operates the Fulton shelter under contract with the county — said 50 to 60 dogs had been moved to the old shelter at 860 Marietta Blvd. NW, citing several kennels closed for painting. The old shelter is closed to the public, except for special adoption events.
One such post, from mid-June, describes the kennel repainting as a four-month project.
LifeLine referred questions about the reasons for the longer painting schedule to Fulton County, which issued a statement that did not address the question.
“Our contractor has encountered some challenges that have now been resolved, however we are continuing to move forward and expect to be complete by the end of the year,” the statement says. “We have worked with our General Contractor as well as Lifeline Animal Services to develop a schedule for rotating some animals to the former shelter while we address this.”
Early this month, LifeLine announced it was reluctantly euthanizing animals at both its Fulton and DeKalb County shelters due to lack of space. A summertime surge of animal intakes coupled with consistent decline in adoptions left both shelters packed, according to the nonprofit group. Fulton’s shelter took in 917 animals in July, the second highest monthly total in LifeLine’s 11 years of running the county shelter. About four out of five animals LifeLine takes in are dogs.
The former Fulton shelter, 45 years old, was chronically overcrowded and wasn’t designed to promote adoption or hold animals long-term. The new one is much more adoption-friendly, offers more medical and other services, and at 50,000 square feet is three times the old shelter’s size. But it too was full upon opening.
According to LifeLine’s website, the group held 450 dogs in Fulton County on Thursday. The main shelter’s capacity is 375.
In March, shelter officials said the kennel repainting would be done in stages, with about 30 animals being moved at a time, leaving affected areas empty for 10 days each. LifeLine asked for volunteers to foster dogs while the work was underway.
Corbitt said in March there was no indication the paint problem was dangerous to people or animals. The county used paint approved for animal shelters since stressed dogs often lick walls.
