Upgrades coming to Harlingen Animal Shelter with $1M grant

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A ceremony was held Thursday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new kennel expansion at the Harlingen Animal Shelter.

The shelter will undergo expansion to include an additional 29 kennels and repairs to house more animals as the city continues to grow.

"This existing shelter has been here for decades, and it's been in great need of expansion and repair," said Josh Ramirez, Harlingen Assistant City Manager.

Harlingen city leaders expect the expansion project to be complete by November.

Photo by Marco Ramirez (ValleyCentral)

"We want to occupy the space as soon as we can. We are going to be able to feed more animals, so people can come over to the shelter, adopt pets, foster pets, and take them with them," Ramirez said.

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez recently secured a $1 million federal grant that will be allocated to help the City of Harlingen build a new animal shelter.

"It's not going to be awarded until next year, but it gives us more time to plan," Ramirez said. "We're planning on the expansion and also allocating some funding so we can be able to build a good facility for our community."