Pinellas County Animal Services opens new medical hospital and upgraded kennel facility

New kennel upgrades

The animals at Pinellas County Animal Services just moved into their upgraded homes that now have air conditioning. Kailey Tracy reports.

RIDGECREST, Fla. - The animals at Pinellas County Animal Services just moved into their upgraded homes that now have air conditioning.

"I've toured animal services before in the summer without AC, and I'll tell you, you don't spend a lot of time out there in those kennels, because it's just too doggone hot, and that's pun intended," Pinellas County Commission Chair Brian Scott said. "So, I think that is obviously the most significant upgrade."

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Scott joined other local leaders and Pinellas County Animal Services staff and volunteers on Friday to cut the ribbon on the upgraded kennel facilities and the new medical hospital. 

What they're saying:

"These two projects brought huge safety and comfort upgrades for the animals and for the people caring for them," Pinellas County Animal Services Director Jennifer Renner said. "We have new kennels, a new roof. The buildings are hardened to withstand up to a category four hurricane, and we also have air conditioning in all of the kennel buildings, which is huge."

The new medical hospital, built in the former St. Pete College Veterinary Technology building next door to Animal Services, is state-of-the-art. It has more surgery space, and they can now do X-Rays, dental work and more in-house.

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"We have increased our capability tenfold compared to what we were able to do in the past," Scott said.

"We can have multiple veterinarians working together at the same time to make sure that we are moving the animals through the shelter system as quickly as possible, which in the long run is better for them. They can be transferred out to our partners. They can go to our adoption floor and find families that much faster," Renner said. 

The vet tech program is still in the building and students are able to work with Animal Services staff, performing surgeries on the animals. SunStar Safety and Emergency Services is also moving into the building, Renner said, and future paramedics will be training there as well. 

A volunteer also found contractors and speaker vendors who donated time and speakers to the shelter to install a speaker system throughout the kennels.

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"That is such an important component of bringing down the fear, anxiety, and stress for the animals in our care, in this environment, which is very stressful for them," Renner said. "We followed the studies and found that dogs just really like reggae, classical music too, and we plan on changing that up because we don't want it to become something to that doesn't impact them as much."

Dig deeper:

The kennel upgrades cost about $4.3 million, and the medical hospital cost about $1.3 million. Penny for Pinellas dollars paid for the projects and private donors and contractors donated services and equipment.

"This really took a village to get this to come together and really make this happen," Scott said. "Hats off thanks to everybody that did this, you know, it just goes to show you the depth of commitment and passion that this community has to make sure that we're taking care of animals. I mean, they're in many ways the most vulnerable among us. It's a huge win."

The upgraded kennels fit about the same number of animals as the old ones. The goal was to give the animals there more space, not necessarily make room for more capacity, Renner said. 

The old surgery space has been turned into an indoor volunteer enrichment room. It has puzzles, toys and a loveseat, giving volunteers the option to play with the animals indoors. 

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"Our volunteers are the heartbeat of our shelter. They do everything for the animals to make sure they have absolutely every comfort item they need to really help set them up for success," Renner said.

State Representative Linda Chaney was also at the ribbon cutting on Friday. She sponsored Dexter’s Law, which increases the criminal penalties for animal cruelty. The law is named after a dog named Dexter, who was found decapitated in a Pinellas County park in 2024 shortly after being adopted. Scott gave Chaney a key to the county.

Scott also talked about the Canine Commissioner program started this year that he came up with to help more dogs get adopted. The commissioners rotate every month and pick a dog. Then, they go to a park and do a photoshoot with the dog and put it online in the hopes that it gets adopted.

All August, Pinellas County Animal Services is waiving adoption fees if you want to find the next member of your family. Friday’s ribbon-cutting also coincided with the unofficial birthday for shelter dogs. Since many of their birthdays are unknown, they’re celebrated on Aug. 1.