Minneapolis Animal Care and Control gets help from city funds for staff, space

Minneapolis Animal Care and Control got a funding boost this year that will help expand the shelter’s hours and hire more staff.

The city-run shelter and animal control unit gets more than $600,000 from the city — more than half of which goes to hiring technicians and animal care staff.

More than $365,000 of the funds will cover the hiring of two animal care technicians, a customer service representative and increasing the shelter’s food, materials and supply budget by $90,000. Another $250,000 will be used to help renovate the shelter.

“We have seen an increase in cases of cruelty and neglect cases and abuse and it takes a toll. We have to be able to respond,” said Enrique Velazquez, the city’s regulatory services director. “We have to respond to our people, to our hours, to how we do our work. That also takes money and investment.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey visited the shelter Tuesday to talk about additional funding. He said during the pandemic, many people got pets. Today, some of those pets are abandoned or boarded.

“What’s increasingly happening is that Minneapolis Animal Care and Control is at capacity and even overwhelmed at times,” Frey said. “And the incredible people behind me are doing amazing work to make sure all these loving animals out there get adopted.”

The shelter has been running at capacity for most of the year so far. The city is reducing fees for Minneapolis residents looking for animals – the fee for adopting a dog or cat is now free. Non-Minneapolis residents who want to adopt either a cat or dog will see a reduced adoption fee, and all exotic birds or small animals at the shelter will also have a reduced adoption fee. – will be adopted.

For more information on the shelter and the adoption process, visit their website. You can also visit the shelter at 212 17th Ave. N, between 1 and 5 pm Monday through Friday, with extended hours until 7 pm on Thursdays.