![A dog stands in the play field at the new Cleveland Kennel. [Nick Castele / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2249e43/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F3%2F07%2F0307dog.jpg)
Cleveland officials cut the ribbon Thursday on a $7.3 million new kennel for city dogs awaiting adoption.
The new facility on the city’s west side has been years in the making, and the price tag has grown $2 million from earlier plans.
The 15,500-square-foot building is bigger than its predecessor in Tremont at the edge of the industrial valley. The new kennel holds dogs in pods with glass doors rather than metal cages.
“Each dog kennel is individually ventilated to promote a safe, clean environment,” manager Colleen Siedlecki said. “We harvest rainwater for sustainability goals.”
Siedlecki said dogs are available for adoption, and there are discounted rates for the next week.
Dogs play at the new city kennel in Cleveland. [Nick Castele / ideastream]
Mayor Frank Jackson thanked employees and volunteers, saying the old kennel had outlived its usefulness.
“It was not the best place in the world to work or to care for animals,” he said. “But they stuck with it, and because of what they did, it became a better place than it ever would have been because of their work.”
After the income tax hike passed in 2016, Cleveland doubled the number of full and part-time kennel positions to 40. As of December 2018, according to the mayor’s budget estimate for this year, 28 of those jobs were filled.
