Mold prompted evacuation of this Pierce County animal shelter. When will it reopen?
It has been two months since Metro Animal Services in Puyallup had to shut down its facility due to mold — and reopening is in sight.
Crews started repairs and expect to finish renovations in the early spring, Carmen Palmer, the spokesperson for the City of Sumner, told The News Tribune Wednesday. They haven’t finalized an exact reopening date.
“The timeline is aiming to get our staff back in the facility in early spring,” Palmer said in a statement. “Our employees continue to work from a remote location with animal control officers responding as necessary in the field. Other shelter staff continue to respond to phone calls and serve our residents with advice and information.”
Early spring is also when they hope to house animals at the shelter again, she said.
While the facility itself is in Puyallup at 1200 39th Ave., the staff are employed by the City of Sumner. The shelter also serves Algona, Bonney Lake, Edgewood, Milton and Pacific.
“There’s definitely an important role that Metro fills that we haven’t been able to do as we normally would during this remote situation,” Palmer said in a phone call Thursday.
The Puyallup City Council approved the first phase of repairs during its Jan. 28 meeting. The first phase of repairs will cost the city about $107,657 and will involve addressing the mold issue, removing “affected materials” and making sure the building is safe to use, according to agenda materials for the meeting. During the second phase, workers will replace damaged drywall, reinstall appliances and fixtures and complete painting work. The agenda materials didn’t list an estimated cost for that phase.
Staff found “organic growth” in the 20-year-old building on Dec. 11 while preparing to replace the flooring. They immediately evacuated all animals and people out of the building, and moved the shelter’s 64 pets to foster families and other shelters across the state — some as far as Spokane.
“The need is great out there for animal services and animal shelters,” Palmer said. “We really appreciate that, when we had to exit our facility so quickly, so many other partners we know were already pushed to their limits but took the animals in our care at that time.”
In the meantime, Palmer recommends the public call the shelter’s staff whenever they need help.
“Every situation, every case has unique facets to it,” Palmer said. “Our advice has been to give us a call, and thank our officers and our shelter staff — they have been doing so much to keep helping the public as best they can.”
If you have a stray animal in your care, post a photo of the animal on social media and tag Metro Animal Services, the shelter told The News Tribune in December. If you see a license on the pet, call 253-299-PETS.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
