Bexar County Commissioners
Approved A New Animal Facility!
On June 10th from 10AM – Noon, the Kirby Bexar Animal Facility (KBAF) will hold its inaugural “Open House” for visitors to come out and tour the facility. The facility is a collaboration between Bexar County and the City of Kirby. Bexar County covered the cost of the building and supplies and Kirby donated the land next to its fire station.
The facility will be managed by Bexar County employee, Jacy Dingel-Elrod, and run by Kirby City staff, Amber Sligh and Polo Vasquez. Joining the animal facility team will be the four Animal Control Officers, Juan Acosta Jr., Brandon Hollenbeck, January Dugan, and Christie Banduch and overseeing the operation is Stan Jordan. With over 60 years of combined professional animal care experience, you can be confident the animals are in good "paws".
Christie Banduch, former Kirby animal control / shelter manager, came up with the idea of collaborating with Bexar County two years ago and approached Andrew Winter, Bexar County Public Works, with the idea of joining forces. The rest is history!
The new facility sits about 100 yards from the former Kirby Animal Shelter that currently houses adoptable cats, puppies and the administrative office space. Now that the first phase of the project is complete, two additional phases are in the planning stages by Public Works to build additional shelter space adjacent to the new facility plus an administrative office building.
The new facility holds 60 dogs comfortably and the existing shelter building houses puppies, kittens, and cats. At the time of writing this article, the facility has 37 dogs and 27 cats for a total of 64 animals. On an average day, the KBAF takes in two dogs and this number is expected to grow over time, so foster families are very much in need right now. Foster families help create space in the facility to accommodate other homeless pets and help animals adjust to a family environment. It is truly remarkable watching the cats and dogs transition from skittish, scared little animals to trusting, flourishing members of a family.
#LoveToTheRescue