Macon County Animal Control and Care Center
Phone: 217-425-4508
2820 E. Parkway Dr.
Decatur, IL 62526
View map…
Hours
Mon.-Fri. noon – 5 pm
Saturday noon – 3 pm
Shelter History
Early 1900s
About eighty years ago, animal control began in Macon County. Stray dogs and dogs which had bitten a person were impounded. There was a city dog pound and a county dog pound, which were shacks with fenced areas near the city dump.
1951-1998
In 1951, a county animal control facility was opened and both of the former dog pounds closed. The new facility was in a remodeled garage which was used for the repair and maintenance of county vehicles. The building had no central heat in cold weather and very little ventilation in hot weather. The new animal control facility began as a physically inadequate building, and very few improvements were made to the building. A group of concerned citizens tried to raise money in 1952 to build a new shelter. However, the group was not able to raise sufficient funds for a new facility. For the next five decades, concerned citizens, fully realizing how substandard the Macon County facility was, could not privately raise sufficient funds for a new shelter. By the late 1990s, the Macon County animal shelter had the reputation as one of the most physically substandard animal shelter buildings in the country. Only 10% of animals taken in by the shelter were ever adopted.
Photos of Old Macon County Animal Control on Woodford Street on Facebook…
1999 – Decatur & Macon County Animal Shelter Foundation
In 1999, the Decatur & Macon County Animal Shelter Foundation was formed, with the purpose of raising money to build a new shelter. Plans for a shelter, based on the needs for the number of animals annually taken in, which was around 5,000, were drawn up. The county appropriated county owned land on Mound Road for the project. Fund raising was planned. A feasibility study determined that the 3 million dollars required to build a new facility would, in all probability, not be raised in the community.
2005 – Tyler Meriwether Trust
In 2005 an existing building, which was for sale, was examined for the possibility of remodeling to become the new shelter. A bond re-issuance for $1.2 million made it possible for the Public Building Commission to become the owner of the building and begin remodeling. The Decatur & Macon County Animal Shelter Foundation was able to provide $650,000 from private fund raising to complete the renovating and assist with the furnishing and equipping of the new shelter. $350,000 of the Foundation’s commitment to the project, came from the Tyler Meriwether Trust. Dr. Meriwether set up a trust in 1941, to be used for a facility which would furnish care for the stray animals of the community.
2006 – Macon County Animal Control and Care Center
The new Macon County Animal Control and Care Center opened in April 2006. After more than fifty years of working toward a new shelter, there now was a facility of which we can all be very proud.
New Shelter move-in day photos on Facebook…
It is estimated that over 3,000 people visited the new shelter on grand opening day. The citizens of Macon County had wanted a new animal shelter for a long time!
Photos of Grand Opening April 12, 2006 on Facebook…
Today – the Mission of the DMCASF
With the completion of the new building, the mission of the Foundation became, and continues to be, to raise money to support the shelter in areas the county or city budget does not cover.
Please help support the mission of the DMCASF and the homeless animals by donating money, volunteering your time, donating items for our Wish List or attending one of our fun fundraising events!
