McLean County Animal Services

Overview

McLean County’s existing animal shelter was outdated, undersized for the community’s needs, and had suffered through two flooding events. With partial funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the county was able to bring on Animal Arts in collaboration with the Farnsworth Group to design a new state-of-the-art shelter.

Located in a rural area of the county, just south of Bloomington, the new facility is more than double the size of the previous shelter. The expanded footprint provides much needed efficiencies in treatment, grooming, food prep, and laundry for staff and volunteers to perform daily tasks, along with indoor and outdoor break spaces to help provide a lower-stress work environment.

Low stress was also a goal for the animal care environments. Smaller, quieter dog housing pods with double-sided indoor/indoor runs have direct access to relief and play yards. Cats have a choice of housing with both ASV-compliant caging and a cat group room. Daylight floods the animal housing rooms from windows and glass-paneled doors. Noise is mitigated with absorbent ceiling tiles and acoustic panels.

Animal housing can be viewed from the public gallery further reducing stress for the animals while creating a pleasant experience for potential adopters. Visitors to the new shelter are welcomed with a bright, colorful environment that communicates the county’s commitment to its people and pets.