In this Times file photo from August 2014, an employee of the Cullman County Animal Shelter walks through an empty kennel. The facility was undergoing painting at the time and dogs were housed with foster families.

Cullman County is in the market for a new animal shelter facility in an effort to reduce the number of animal euthanizations and increase adoptions.

A  new building to house stray cats and dogs will have to be completely funded with donations, at an estimated cost of $800,000 to $1 million, said Tim McCoy, director of Cullman County Animal Control.

“The new location will be near other county resources like the sheriff’s office, water department and EMA (Emergency Management Agency),” McCoy said. “We’ve been in our current building since the 1980s, and we can’t isolate our stray animals from the ones that are adoptable. The new facility will allow us to do that so we can hopefully cut down on the number of euthanizations.”

The county animal shelter and animal control departments are housed at a building owned by the City of Cullman on Convent Road Northeast. Originally, a joint venture, the county took over the animal shelter in the 1990s, McCoy said.

Cullman allows the animal shelter to use the building rent-free, however the county has to pay for its maintenance and upkeep.

The county isn’t looking to increase the size of its shelter, just how it utilizes space, he said. One of the downsides to the current shelter is it doesn’t have separate kennels for in-take animals and animals who have been screened and approved for adoption. The new facility will allow the shelter to isolate animals to prevent the spread of disease, McCoy said.

“We’re also looking at having training rooms for up 20 to 30 people from law enforcement, health department staff and other people associated with the animal field to come in for classes,” he said.

McCoy said Morgan County’s new animal shelter is an example Cullman County looks to follow.

The county has less than two years to raise the money for the new building. An account has been established in the animal shelter’s budget to accept donations, and McCoy said he has already talked to several people who are interested in helping make the new facility a reality.

The Internal Revenue Service has informed county officials that donations will be tax-deductible, however the county is awaiting official notification by mail.

“We’ve got a long road ahead of us trying to raise this money,” McCoy said. “We want to be an example for other departments and communities. We want to be a leader in our area and have other people come in and see what we’re doing at our facility.”

* Tiffeny Owens can be reached by email at towens@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131.