LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — The Lauderdale County Commission has unanimously approved an agreement with the City of Florence to hire and train animal control officers for the county.

On Monday, the county commission voted on the agreement, which was approved by the City of Florence on May 19. Now, two new animal control officers will be hired to handle aggressive or hurt animals outside of the city limits.

Up until now, Lauderdale County did not have any trained officers to deal with these animals. Now, Florence-Lauderdale Animal Services will be able to provide animal control services out in the county.

As part of the agreement, both the county and the city will also consider building a medical ward for the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter and hiring an on-site veterinarian.

Lauderdale County Commission Chairman Danny Pettus told News 19 that building this medical ward would greatly help the shelter’s budget in the future.

“When you hire an in-house vet, even paying what they estimate a good salary for a vet, that’s going to save the shelter over $400,000,” Pettus said.

The new agreement is expected to go into effect on June 1.