A new home for Gwinnett's pets

Metro Atlanta

Celebrate the grand opening of a state-of-the-art Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center with pooches, kittens and other pals.

Kim Everett plays with a kitten in cage 22 that is up for adoption following the grand opening ceremony at the new Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center in Lawrenceville.

Jeremy Stegall, of Suwanee, was one of the first members of the public to use the services at the new Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center facilities in Lawrenceville. His American bulldog "Hauss" got out through a hole in a yard fence and was picked up and brought there.

An orange tabby cat looks out as visitors Letha Mooney (right), Bronwen Wagner (center), and Carter Riddett (left), all of Lawrenceville, look over the cats and kittens following the center's grand opening ceremony.

A group of women look into the window at a dog in the dog area of the new facility which has 70 more dog pens than the old shelter.

Dignitaries and political office holders line up to cut the ribbon at the facility's grand opening ceremony. The facility will serve as the place to go in Gwinnett for adopt animals, reclaim an impounded pet or surrender a pet that is no longer wanted.

This beagle waits excitedly for a home. The facility is expected to do about 1,756 adoptions this year.

Heidi Davidson, of Lawrenceville, checks out the cages that contain cats and kittens up for adoption. The new shelter has 224 more cat pens than its older counterpart.

The kittens in cage 29 were cute, cuddly and ready for adoption. The new center has surgical facilities where veterinarians spay and neuter animals that are adopted.

A puppy waits in enclosure 245 for a home. About 15,000 stray or abandoned animals will be brought to the shelter each year.

Alice Carver, an investigator for the state court solicitor's office in Gwinnett County, peers into one of the dog enclosures.

This Jack Russell terrier waits for a home in enclosure 178.

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Kim Everett plays with a kitten in cage 22 that is up for adoption following the grand opening ceremony at the new Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center in Lawrenceville.

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