SPCA of Wake County opens new center, aiming to serve 9,000 animals yearly

A new animal center near Garner opened Thursday with a simple goal and a much bigger reach: help the SPCA of Wake County serve 9,000 animals a year instead of about 4,000.

The Peggy Garner Britt Resource Center, at 300 Petfinder Lane in Raleigh, is part of the Susan and Randall Ward Regional Campus for Pets and People. Leaders said the facility will give the organization more room for sterilization, advanced veterinary care, shelter space and other services meant to shorten stays and move healthy animals into homes faster.

Kim Janzen, the SPCA’s president and CEO, said many of the animals it serves come from rural counties with limited shelter resources, making the new building more than a local upgrade. It adds capacity in Wake County at a time when rescues and shelters across the region are under pressure from strays, owner surrenders and gaps in veterinary access.

The project was financed through $25 million in donations, including a $5 million gift from philanthropist Suzie Ward. Ward said she hoped Raleigh would one day be known as the best city to be a homeless animal in, capturing the broader ambition behind the campus and the new center’s role in it.

The opening gives Wake County residents a larger local resource for adoption, surrender and care when pets are in crisis. It also gives the SPCA more room to reduce unnecessary euthanasia by getting animals through intake, treatment and placement more quickly. Doors are expected to open to families and their pets in early May, so the center’s first full month of operations will follow almost immediately after the ribbon cutting. For a county still dealing with shelter strain, the expansion is a concrete addition to the region’s animal-welfare system, with more animals, more services and more chances to keep pets out of limbo.