Montgomery County is on the brink of getting a new animal shelter that will be twice as large and much more sophisticated than the facility used for the past three decades, animal service officials told county leaders this week.

Designs have not been finalized, but the $13 million shelter is projected to make a big difference once construction finishes in 2009.

According to Capt. Harold Allen, director of the county’s Animal Services Division, a significant concern with the existing shelter on Rothgeb Drive in Rockville is safety.

“There is only one air-handling system, so sick animals are intermingled with everything else as far as the air is concerned,” Allen said, explaining that the new center has separate air-handling systems.

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“It moves fresh air through every five minutes, so the air won’t be cross-contaminated.”

Also, with more space in the upgraded shelter — set to be built in Shady Grove near the county’s air field — animals can be separated more appropriately.

The shelter currently handles a wide range of cases and species, yet they’re housed in close quarters.

Because animal services is a division under the county’s police department, “officers are sometimes bringing pit bulls in that have been seized after a drug bust right next to a family that wants a cute, fuzzy little animal,” said J.C. Crist, president of the Humane Society group that oversees adoptions.

The new facility will house a “surrender lobby” in the back for residents whose animals were captured or who must pay fines, as well as a separate adoption lobby where staff can focus on education.

Crist said the upcoming shelter will allow pets to be spayed or neutered on-site.

Currently, future owners often are entrusted with having these services done by private veterinarians.

In spite of the obstacles, Montgomery County ranks high nationally in terms of the number of animal adoptions.

Crist said that February was a record-breaking month, with nearly 95 percent of animals placed in homes.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com