A groundbreaking ceremony took place Sunday for a new wing at Angels for Animals. 

Co-founder Diane Less tells us the expansion is needed to provide more space to care for animals. 

The original facility was designed to be a shelter only, but there are too many other needs.

Less said, "We want a place for every animal to go. This is not just about sheltering animals, but about saving them. The 24-7 vet clinic that's going to be available not just for stray and abandoned animals." 

"If you find an animal hit on the road, or if police need a place for animals to go, this will be the place. It will also be for you when you have your own pets when you have a crisis in the middle of the night or the weekend, or the holiday. You are going to have a place to go," Less said.

The new vet clinic will also help reduce the overpopulation problem in our region by increasing spay and neutering with a goal of 25,000 pets a year. 

A former Mahoning Dog Warden and current board member of Angels for Animals said, "There are so many animals and the funding sources for these animals are very scarce. By doing this project we will have a source of income to shelter the animals by using the veterinarian services."

"Right now, we do 10,000 spay and neuter surgeries a year on pets our goal is to do more than double that number.  This is not just for Mahoning County, but it's for Columbiana, Trumbull, Portage counties and into Pennsylvania as well."

The first half of the project will cost almost six million dollars.  

Fundraising continues the 2nd half of the project that is expected to cost five million dollars. 

Phase two will provide needed space to help save dogs and cats lives so the animals can be sheltered until foster homes and permanent homes can be found. 

There are many opportunities for people in the community to help build the 2nd phase. 

You can buy one square foot for the facility by donating $200, one can buy cages for $200 and $500 or you can buy a run for $1,000. 

There are also naming rights that range in price from 15,000 for a room, all the way up to a million dollars.

You can find out about those opportunities on the Angels for Animals Facebook page and on the non-profit organization's website by clicking here.