Spokane County has joined the cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley to create a regional animal protection agency.

KREM reports ( http://bit.ly/WcZD4s) the Spokane County Board of Commissioners voted Monday on the agreement.

The Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, also known as SCRAPS, is now responsible for animal control in all three jurisdictions.

The unified operation will keep costs the same for the cities and county. Residents looking for lost pets will only need to check one shelter.

The City of Spokane recently ended its animal control contract with SpokAnimal after almost 30 years.

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Information from: KREM-TV, http://www.krem.com/