The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has approved spending $27 million to build a new animal shelter in the East Valley. 

The existing county shelter in Mesa was built in 1991. Monica Gery is the communications officer for Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.

“Currently we have about 50 pets at the East shelter because we’re using it as overflow," she said. "We are extremely full. We are at capacity this time of year.”

The county shelters take in more than 20,000 pets per year on average.

Gery says the county has attempted to keep the West Valley shelter running with repairs, “But it’s really deteriorated and just does not offer the level of care that we would like to offer our pets with Animal Care and Control.”

The new shelter will be built on county-owned land in Mesa at Baseline Road and Lewis Drive. The next step will be for the county to request construction bids.

The county hopes to break ground on the facility in the fall.