When Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath came to Mount Isa on Tuesday one of her highlights was petting tiny Sparky the cat.
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Ms D'Ath spotted the four week old kitten as it was about to leave Mount Isa's new Animal Management Facility after Jennifer and Matthew Crombie gave it a home.
The Crombies' old cat had just died of kidney failure and it was love at first sight when the couple saw its photo on the Council animal refuge's social media page.
"We had to go down immediately as soon as we saw it," Matthew told the Attorney-General..
And the name Sparky, the A-G asked?
"He's a sparky," Jennifer said, pointing to Matthew.
Sparky (the kitten that is) is one of the lucky ones spending very little time at the upgraded facility in Richardson Rd which will have an official opening next month.
The $845,000 Animal Management Facility is owned by Mount Isa City Council but was fully funded under the state government's Works for Queensland program.
"Works for Queensland is generating jobs and investment in Mount Isa and supporting the local economy," Ms D'Ath said.
"I congratulate Mayor Joyce McCulloch for delivering this improved infrastructure which will be able to offer more humane care to lost and abandoned pets."
Cr McCulloch said the upgraded facility will serve the needs of the community for years to come.
"This upgrade project brought the facility into the 21st century and it looks fantastic," Cr McCulloch said.
"I'm confident the Animal Management Facility's customers will be impressed with the new, larger administration building and all of the new amenities."
They include an animal treatment clinic, dog exercise yard, stock-holding area and receiving bay, new fencing and automatic gates, landscaping and driveway sealing, dog pen extensions and water misting systems.
The current facility is open only one hour a day in the morning and another in the afternoon often meaning a return trip to council offices in the CBD to do paperwork.
The new facility will circumvent this, able to offer longer opening hours Monday to Friday and also on weekends.
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