Clark County Approves $3M Temporary Shelter to Address Animal Overcrowding

Clark County leaders have approved $3 million for a temporary animal shelter at Silver Bowl on Russell Road and Boulder Highway, with construction expected to begin this spring. The facility is intended to provide short-term relief to overcrowded Las Vegas-area shelters once work gets underway later this year.

The temporary shelter will serve as a stopgap while county officials pursue a permanent $39 million, 45,000-square-foot supplemental shelter complex near Tropicana Avenue and the 215 Beltway. That project is planned to open by 2028 to address long-term capacity pressures. Design work for the Silver Bowl site will be led by Animal Arts to ensure efficient planning.

The Animal Foundation, the region's only open-admission shelter, reported taking in about 29,000 animals in 2025, an 11% increase over 2024. Dog surrenders rose about 15%, cat surrenders increased 25%, and intake of other animals climbed 44%. Adoption rates stood at 23% for dogs and 45% for cats.

The animal foundation tracked around 90 daily stays in 2025, reflecting an increase in admissions and changes in the animals adopted from there.  “As the only open-admission shelter in the area, we're often overcrowded, taking in nearly 90 animals a day, far more than we have space for. That kind of overcrowding creates serious challenges for our staff and the animals in our care,” the foundation said in a statement to the Sun.

Officials said the combined investments in temporary and permanent facilities, along with design input from Animal Arts, are expected to reverse overcrowding in the coming years gradually. Part of the overall strategy will have a law enforcement piece and expanded adoptions.

Locally, rescues including Homeward Bound, Hearts Alive Village, and the Nevada Animal Shelter Society have all noted that they are seeing overcrowding and limited space, and at times are unable to take in an animal.

Las Vegas' mayor has prioritized animal safety through initiatives such as Operation Pawsitive Change, launched in 2024 to curb unpermitted breeding, expand spay-and-neuter clinics, and promote adoptions. “Pet overpopulation and subsequent pet homelessness is a multiheaded monster, and we need to cut off all the heads,” Heeren said.

City and county officials have also adopted prohibitions on licensed pet stores selling certain small animals beginning in 2028, and expanded adoption events such as Paws on the Plaza at the Las Vegas Civic Center.