Harlingen plans for $237,000 animal shelter expansion

The city is working on its first expansion of the Harlingen Animal Shelter, planning to build outdoor dog kennels to help boost capacity.

Officials are planning to build 29 cinder-block kennels, most 4-feet by 5-feet, along with a 9-foot by 5-foot kennel designed for large dogs, to stand behind the shelter, Shannon Harvill, the city’s environmental health director overseeing the shelter, said Tuesday.

City Engineer Luis Vargas put the project’s cost at $237,000.

“I think they’re going to be a huge benefit,” Harvill said. “The additional space will be a benefit. The open air will be a benefit.”

The new kennels will add to the shelter’s 41 indoor kennels, increasing its capacity to 70 dogs, she said.

Meanwhile, the shelter includes 29 cat kennels, Harvill said.

“We’re operating at capacity,” she said.

As part of the project, officials selected cinder block as the kennels’ construction material to help cut down on the spread of disease, Assistant City Manager Josh Ramirez said.

“Cinder blocks help prevent animal contact so they eliminate the threat of illnesses and infection, and cinder blocks are easier to clean and maintain,” he said.

Harvill called on residents to help find the shelter’s dogs and cats a home.

Meanwhile, the shelter’s staff members continue reaching into the community to give residents chances to adopt pets.

“They try to attend as many off-site events as they can,” Harvill said.

At the shelter, officials are also working with residents who offer dogs and cats foster homes, she said.

In January 2024, the city opened the shelter after officials terminated the Rio Grande Valley Humane Society’s $400,000 annual contract, claiming the “no-kill” agency breached its agreement when it refused to take in residents’ pets along with some animal control officers’ intake requests.

Since 1988, the Humane Society, under its former name, the Harlingen Humane Society, had operated the city-owned shelter.

At City Hall, officials are working on landing grants to help fund construction for the city’s new animal shelter.

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