The chief of the Prince George’s County Animal Management Division knew exactly what he wanted when it came time to design a new animal services facility.
Rodney Taylor envisioned adoption spaces that replicate household living rooms to put animals and their potential owners at ease. The new facility also needed a dedicated area to accommodate the special requirements of exotic animals such as ferrets, snakes and iguanas that end up in the county’s care. Taylor wanted to nearly double the size of the current facility as well as double the capacity.
Construction bids go out Monday for the county’s new $8 million, 37,000-square-foot animal services facility, to be built on Brown Station Road at Brooke Lane in Upper Marlboro. The facility will replace the current 30-year-old, 19,000-square-foot building in Forestville, where the division can accommodate up to 160 animals before having to farm dogs and cats out to similar facilities in neighboring counties and the District.
“We stay at full capacity,” Taylor said. “With the new homes going up in the county and the population increasing in Prince George’s County, that just brings more animals to the county.”
Taylor said the division uses portable cages in any available space to house animals. A low-cost spay-neuter clinic run in conjunction with the Prince George’s County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/Humane Society operates out of a double-wide trailer across the street.
The new building will have an in-house clinic as well as advanced separate air systems to keep fresh air flowing constantly.
Taylor said there will also be dedicated space for veterinarians, grooming facilities, a community room, a dog park and a “cat mall” — “an actual cat area where they can interact with one another.”
Taylor began what would become a 23-year career with the division at the Forestville facility.
“I know it better than my house,” he said.
But, for functionality’s sake, Taylor said he’s more than willing to make the move.
Animal art wanted
» The Prince George’s County Art in Public Places program seeks Washington-area artists to create art for the county’s new animal services facility, to be built in Upper Marlboro.
» The program asks that artists with experience working in Fiberglas, metals, mosaics and stone apply to create one or more permanent works for the facility.
» For more information, call 301-883-6201 or visit www.goprincegeorges.com to download an application.
