BRANFORD, Conn. — A major makeover is in the works at the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford.
“I have always said that this little animal shelter can change the world and I really believe that,” said Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter director, Laura Burban.
A transformation is taking shape at the property where the team has outgrown its original space. After years of planning and more than $1.5 million dollars in fundraising, work is officially underway on a major expansion.
“With doing this renovation and expansion, we are going to be able to create safe, comfortable, happy environments, we are going to have new ventilation systems to cut down on diseases spreading,” said Burban.
Matt Barone is the senior superintendent overseeing construction with Enterprise Builders.
“I am into dogs, I love dogs, I’m into shepherds, always had shepherds,” he said.
Barone’s team is adding some 3,000 square feet to the shelter, which will mean new kennels, training and visiting rooms, and a splash pad, as well as office space for the shelter team.
“Just very state of the art, everything is going to be spray foam inside, very energy efficient, it will have a generator for loss of power, parking lot obviously is going to be bigger,” said Barone.
The project is costing about $4.5 million with participating towns picking up what does not come from donors.
“We believe that the work that we are doing will allow these animals find homes faster, it will make people feel more comfortable coming here if they need educational seminars or they have questions,” said Burban.
The project is slated to be complete next June.
Keith McGilvery is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at kmcgilvery@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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