Newly-opened Alabama shelter is now America's largest no-kill rescue

No pet should have to be put down just because a shelter is overcrowded, which is why no-kill shelters are such a blessing: they make sure no animal has to be euthanized, instead making sure they all have a safe place to stay while they wait for their forever home.

Now, one new no-kill facility is being called the largest in the United States, and will surely go a long way in saving countless animal lives.

Big Dog Ranch Rescue recently opened the new facility in Shorter, Alabama. It’s a second location for the rescue, which also operates in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The new Macon County campus is a 100-acre site that was previously a greyhound training facility, according to AL.com.

The huge new shelter comes at a time when shelters are “euthanizing dogs at an all-time high rate,” the rescue wrote on their website. With their new location, the rescue will be able to double their rescue efforts, which cover a region of eight states.

The new location will allow them to provide much-needed care and shelter for neglected and abused dogs. In addition, the site will serve as a hub in which they can take in pets from overcrowded shelters and transport them to shelters with space available, preventing the kind of overcrowding that might lead to euthanasia.

“The opening of a second Big Dog Ranch Rescue location is something I’ve prayed for over the years,” Big Dog Ranch Rescue Founder and CEO Lauree Simmons said, according to AL.com. “It’s a great day for us and, more importantly, it’s a great day for the dogs.”

The owners say they have saved 53,000 dogs in the history of Big Dog Rescue, and they estimate they will be able to save 5,000 a year with the new expansion.

Renovations are still a work in progress, as 13 kennels on the property and other support buildings still need to be redone. But the shelter is in operation, already housing 100 dogs.