Cats and dogs of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control system stand to benefit from the changes in store for all six county animal shelters, including millions of dollars in upgrades and the addition of staff.

The plans, unveiled Wednesday, call for renovations and construction to take place mainly in the Antelope Valley facilities. In addition, the thousands of cats and dogs in the system will have 26 new staffers to help watch over them.

More than $1 million will be invested in the latest phase of an improvement program, which launched in 2001. To meet an increasing demand for spay/neuter services, three clinics to specialize in pet sterilization are slated to be built, for a total cost of $5 million.

Meanwhile, workers at the seven city-run animal shelters are fighting proposed staff cuts which would eliminate 28 positions in order to help resolve a budget crisis.