On Jan. 9, the Baldwin County Animal Shelter held a ribbon cutting to officially open its new intake building in Summerdale.

This building accommodates 114 dogs and 30 cats, which is 14 more kennels than the previous building. Construction broke ground in 2021 and after two years is assisting the way animals are cared for before finding their forever home.

"I just can't tell you how much this means to me," Baldwin County District 3 Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood said. "I knew the animals needed something better than what we had, and so the commission was able to figure out a way to go ahead and move the construction up a little bit."

Underwood, whose district includes Summerdale, noted that this new facility is more sanitized and helps keep cross contamination out of the building.

"The new facility is also much better suited to hand inclement weather and minimize the potential of having to evacuate during inclement weather," BCAS Manager George Majors said in a previous Gulf Coast Media article.

The shelter is at 15240 Co Road 49, Summerdale. Animals can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.