Marshall County Animal Shelter Director Abby Bateman, left, and shelter employee Ashlyn O’Neil, right, play with Amos, an 8-year-old mixed breed, Friday at the shelter. (Photo by Derek Redd)

MOUNDSVILLE — The Marshall County Animal Shelter was able to celebrate two milestones Friday — the renovations to the shelter that the COVID-19 pandemic kept from the general public and the reopening of the Tiffany Dlesk Spay/Neuter Clinic.

The shelter held a ceremonial ribbon cutting Friday afternoon, which let people see the new components to the shelter thanks to county-funded renovations.

“My staff and our board of directors and the county commissioners have done such wonders to make sure that we have a wonderful shelter,” said shelter director Abby Bateman, “and for people to be able to come in and see all the hard work that’s put into us having such a good shelter is nice.”

Among the renovations are a new sunroom built onto the shelter to allow its kittens to play, a new medical room for the animals, a new area for dogs to quarantine until they’re properly vaccinated, and new holding areas for the cats to allow for freer movement and to keep siblings closer together.

Bateman said the return of the spay/neuter clinic is huge for the area. Veteranarian Dr. Jana Howe was hired late last year, and she quickly set out to hire staff and get the clinic prepared for its opening. The clinic provides low-cost spay and neuter services for those who meet the criteria for income.

“We were closed for a little over a year,” Bateman said of the clinic. “It really hurt, just not having the ability for people to be able to get low-cost spay and neuters. It was really difficult, so it’s a plus that it’s back up and running.”

Those wondering if they fit the income criteria to use the clinic can go to its Facebook page at facebook.com/TDSNC. Anyone interested in adopting a dog or cat can call the shelter at 304-845-9770.