SANTEE, CA — A new state-of-the-art animal shelter is being built in Santee.

The county facility on the northwest corner of Magnolia Avenue and Riverview Parkway will serve animals and residents in East and South San Diego County. The shelter comes at a time when shelters in the county and across the country are over capacity.

“This will be a very nice upgrade for all of the animals and for our visitors as well,” said Vaughn Maurice, director of the county’s Department of Animal Services.

Construction on the $37 million project began in December and is expected to be completed by summer of 2026, according to Maurice.

He said the shelter is being constructed in Santee because it’s “as central as you can be for a county that’s so huge.” The county also already owned the land.

The Department of Animal Services currently has shelters in Bonita and Carlsbad. Once the Santee location opens, Maurice said the county plans to close the Bonita location, which has been used for roughly 60 years.

“It’s really, really outdated,” Maurice said. “The facility has seen its better days in the past and it’s just very expensive to keep maintaining it.”

The 23,000-square-foot facility in Santee will include shelter space, a secured and open courtyard, an outdoor livestock area, activity yards, a secured staff parking lot, and a public parking lot.

The facility will offer pet adoption services, spay and neuter services, vaccinations, and basic pet wellness services. The shelter will also serve as an emergency response deployment hub, and offer animal intake and care during local emergencies.

“It’s being built to top standards as far as being an energy-efficient, green building, which is really very cool,” Maurice said. “It will be really nice for the animals and for people, and it will cost us a lot less in electricity at the end of the day. We’re very fortunate that the county has decided to invest in the animals in this way.”

While the shelter remains under construction, residents across the county can help the Department of Animal Services by volunteering at the Bonita or Carlsbad shelters. Residents can also volunteer from home by becoming pet foster parents.

“We are always looking for volunteers,” Maurice said. “We really need foster parents for our dogs. Dogs in foster homes do so much better than dogs in shelters and it makes the transition for them to their permanent home that much easier.”

To learn more about volunteering or fostering pets, visit the department’s website.