Kalamazoo County Animal Services & Enforcement posted some very exciting and highly anticipated news on Thursday, October 14, 2019:
"YAY! Official opening day is Tuesday November 12, 2019 We will be closed Friday November 8 and Monday November 11, 2019 to move! Our new address is 1316 Lamont Street 49048, we are just a little closer to the Sherriff's department [sic]"
The original move was expected earlier in the fall, but due to delays furnishing the new shelter, the move is now scheduled for mid-November. KCASE will be open for the last day at 2500 Lake Street on Thursday, November 8. The department will be moving through the long weekend (the county observes Veteran's Day as a holiday) and plans to reopen at its new address of 1316 Lamont Avenue Tuesday, November 12.
"This move will change animal welfare in this community for the better," says Steve Lawrence, the Director of the Kalamazoo County Animal Services & Enforcement department. "We have been waiting for this day for a long time, and we're finally able to bring animals into a modern, clean and healthier facility."
Lawrence has been at the helm of this project from the beginning. Starting out at KCASE as an officer in 2002, Lawrence quickly became the Director in 2003 and started making big changes to improve the shelter for the animals in its care and the staff. The changes included a new logo and badge, a vision statement, and a new name for the department that would better reflect a gentler approach to animal welfare, unlike the former department name, Kalamazoo County Animal Control. Many department policies and procedures were also modified under the direction of Lawrence, including the removal of the gas chamber that was once used to euthanize animals and the introduction of disease prevention measures that include the vaccination of incoming animals.
Lawrence tells us that along with the move, the shelter will also be open on Saturday beginning immediately. After the move, KCASE hours will be Monday-Saturday from 8 am to 12:30 pm, and 2 pm to 4:30 pm. Wednesday afternoons the shelter is open 2 pm to 7 pm.
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