For years, hundreds of dogs and cats picked up in Walton County had to be taken to a shelter in a neighboring county..and that meant fewer adoptions..
One million dollars and seven years later, Walton County opened its first independently operated animal shelter,
Animal Control staffers say it's well worth every penny.

Walton County opened the doors to its first ever animal shelter last monday in north walton county and within the week has become home to seventy-five dogs and cats.
Lois Marlow is the Animal Services Manager at the shelter and says it's been a long time coming.
"To have it home and localized, it's been so long awaited for and it's almost like a relief, like finally your home" Marlow says.
The new facility is changing the way Animal Control does business.
Now the county won't have to rely on neighboring shelters and
the convenience is saving the county money.
John Dalton is an Animal Control Officer for the county and remembers when things weren't so easy.
" We had to make one-to-two runs a day to Chipley. Now it will cut back on our time and save the county some gas" says Dalton.
And save the lives of hundreds of dogs and cats.
"Definitely gonna make it easier for them to be adopted out, finding homes for them-just taking care of them" says fellow Animal Control Officer, Larry Hester.
And there's plenty of puppy love and kitty company to go around.
The shelter has already made their first adoption and hopes to get these furry friends out of their cages and into loving homes.
"Adoption includes vaccinations, rabies vaccinations, and we're hoping we can check for feline leukemia for the cats and heartworms for the dogs" Marlow adds.
They also have a veternarian on site to spay and neuter which Animal Control says will make the population more managable and keep uthenasia to a minimum.
Marlow anticipates the shelter will save hundreds of lives in the near future.
"I'm seeing we actually will intake a lower number of animals because of a good spay and neuter program. So i'm looking to see a reduction in that and we're gonna see a big difference in walton county in the next few years."
If you are interested in adopting your next pet from the new Walton County Shelter, call 892-8758 or log on to our webchannel at www.WJHG.com for more information.