PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Plans are in the works for a new animal shelter in Port Arthur.
The new Port Arthur Animal Shelter will be located at the site of the old St. Mary Hospital.
The new facility will offer more kennels, a quarantine area, a cat area and an adoption center.
Assistant City Manager Pamela Langford tells 12News, this new shelter is needed.
"Not only to accommodate the various animals we take in, but also develop a new center and complex for our staff as well, who care for these animals," she said.
The city has already sent out bids to contractors and they hope to have the shelter open its doors by 2025.
The current animal shelter in Port Arthur caught backlash earlier this year when a video of two kittens found in poor conditions at the shelter went viral.
The video went viral in February 2023. It was taken by a rescue worker and shared across Facebook.
Following the video's surfacing, a push from animal activists prompted city leaders and the Port Arthur Police Department to conduct an investigation.
Sadly, one of the kittens seen in the video later died after Knighton took them to the vet. The other survived, was affectionately named Hope and was later adopted.
In March 2023, Port Arthur City Council members voted to appoint three new members to the city's animal shelter advisory board. Citizens hope the new board members will help make things better for animals at the shelter.
While the addition of the board members was a welcomed change, activists still feel more can be done. They want Port Arthur to become a no-kill city.
During a council meeting on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, an agenda item included the discussion of developing a no-kill animal shelter in Port Arthur.
This meeting was another opportunity for animal activists to gather and voice their concerns..
The agenda item was requested by councilmember Donald Ray Frank.
"I want those who care about animals to know that we hear them, I've been a pet owner. I love animals," Frank previously told 12News.
Frank wants to make it clear that the council is working towards a solution.
The city's current animal shelter is decades old and consistently at-capacity.
"We have a new animal shelter being built in our city. The current shelter was built in the 1960's. It's basically just a garage with cages in it," Frank said.
To be called no-kill, a shelter's euthanasia rate must remain below 10 percent, meaning 90 percent of the animals have to be saved.
"We've got to work very closely with the legal department to make sure we meet that 90%," said Port Arthur City Manager Ronald Burton.
Dr. Kelley Kays is a Southeast Texas veterinarian who helped Beaumont become a no-kill city. Kays wants to put in the same efforts to help make Port Arthur a no-kill city.
"We will volunteer to come in the shelter, and start the vaccination program and help deworm them, in case the staff either needs that help or whatever," she previously told 12News.
Although Kays says a new shelter sounds nice, she doesn't want to wait and is offering her own hand to help the cause.
"We want to start the vaccination program because that will break the cycle," she said.