By JULIA NAGY
The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — It’s not the pawfect situation when it comes to their current shelter, but the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society is trying to build a new one.

The society will host a fundraiser from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the site of their new shelter, 445 Liberty Road, to raise money for the building’s construction and the humane society.

Admission is $25 and food and an open bar will be available at the fundraiser. Building plans will be on display, and the building and its rooms will be outlined on the ground.

Tables will be set up asking for donations.

The new shelter, which still needs $300,000 in funding, according to building committee chairman Richard Leet, will be approximately 5,000 square feet and provide much-needed space for the shelter.

“We need a larger building, but we can’t afford it right now,” Leet said. “We’ll build what we can afford.”

Leet said the humane society will need another $500,000 to add on needed additions to the new shelter.

The new facility will be able to hold approximately 32 dogs and 30 cats, Leet said. Feeding prep and laundry areas, which are not available at the current shelter, will be included.

Leet said he also plans to construct horse stalls. The current shelter has no area to stable horses, forcing the shelter to board them with outside veterinarians.

“The previous shelter is real small,” Leet said. “It’s God awful. (The animals) are living in total poverty.

“It would be like you and I living in the slums.”

For board member Kathy Fitch, the building of the shelter can’t come soon enough.

“It’s really exciting for us,” Fitch said. “It’s vitally important. The shelter we have right now is inadequate for our needs. We need to do a lot better for our animals and our employees.”

Leet said the organization hopes to break ground in early January and expects the construction to take approximately six months.

“It’s just for the animals,” Leet said. “It’s going to be so much better than what we have.”