Spartanburg County‘s long-anticipated Pet Resource Center on Southport Road is now operational and welcoming adopters, completing a project that has been under development since 2022 and delivering the county its first purpose-built animal welfare facility after more than a decade of contracting with Greenville County Animal Care for stray animal housing.
The facility, a 26,600-square-foot limited-intake center, includes 79 dog kennels, 12 cat kennels, isolation housing for animals needing quarantine, surgery and exam rooms, an x-ray suite, pharmacy, adoption and clinic lobbies, and a multipurpose community room. The exterior footprint adds 18,600 square feet of outdoor space, including fenced animal yards with artificial turf, areas for temporary farm animal housing, and 72 parking spaces. The Spartanburg County Animal Welfare Services website shows the pet support lobby operating Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and the adoption lobby open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays.
The $24.6 million facility was constructed by Clayton Construction Company and designed by SHLTR Architects of Greenville in partnership with Animal Arts of Boulder, Colorado — a firm that specializes in animal shelter design. Spartanburg County Council approved $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding toward construction costs, with the remainder drawn from county capital improvement plan allocations. The project broke ground in December 2024.
The center operates under a limited-intake model rather than the open-intake approach common to traditional animal shelters. That structure means the county prioritizes reuniting animals with their owners, placing animals in foster care, and transferring to rescue partner organizations before housing at the facility. The county’s Animal Welfare Services department, formed to combine animal control enforcement with the new resource center’s reunification and medical programming, oversees both functions. Animal Control Officers continue to respond to complaints and enforce county ordinances while the PRC focuses on intake coordination, medical care, and adoption services.
Spartanburg County’s contract with Greenville County Animal Care, in place since 2011, transported thousands of stray animals from Spartanburg County to the Greenville facility each year. That arrangement ends as the PRC takes on stray intake. For residents, the change means animals picked up in Spartanburg County will now be housed locally rather than transported to a facility 30-plus miles away — a shift that county leaders said would improve reunification rates and reduce the logistical burden on the county’s animal control operation.
The center also offers a safety net program for pet owners facing temporary financial hardship, providing free or low-cost veterinary services to help keep animals with their families rather than surrendering them. A food pantry for pets and educational programming are among the community-facing services the facility will offer. County officials have identified foster volunteer recruitment as a primary community need as the facility scales operations.
County Councilwoman Jessica Coker has been among the council voices most closely associated with the PRC project, noting in earlier coverage that the limited-intake model is designed to produce better outcomes for animals than traditional high-volume shelter operations. The facility is located near the Spartanburg Downtown Airport and is designed with physical space to allow future expansion as county population growth continues.
