NATCHEZ — If you could quantify the Miss-Lou’s love for its animals, it would come to about $900,000, Natchez-Adams County Humane Society Vice-chair Sue Stedman said.

That is the amount of donated funds that will build a new shelter for the community’s lost, lonely and abused animals.

Stedman said the humane society has been fundraising for the shelter for several years, and board members are happy to see it coming to fruition.

In 2008, a group of interested individuals donated a property on Col. John Pitchford Parkway and spearheaded a board-approved fundraising effort for a new shelter. After questions arose about the possible costs associated with that site, a second proposal — an expansion of their current property on Liberty Road — resulted in a number of members of the society withdrawing their support. The dispute eventually ended with a mediator, and a review of how the humane society was operated.

A site plan for the shelter was approved at Tuesday’s Natchez Planning Commission, and the humane society will now be working to put the project out for bid.

“It’s been a dream for us to come up with a new shelter,” Stedman said. “The reason it’s taken so long to construct a shelter like this that is current and has modern technology and construction is because it’s expensive.”

The humane society, Stedman said, originally thought the cost of a new up-to-date shelter would be approximately $400,000-$500,000.

“As we began to investigate proper standards for building a shelter, we quickly realized we didn’t have enough money,” she said. “There was a delay with us getting enough money in the bank to move forward.”

Stedman said the humane society has been overwhelmed by the generosity of donations, both monetary and in the form of materials for the shelter, such as crushed limestone that will be used for the parking lot.

Plans for the shelter include areas for dog and cat adoptions, puppies and small-breed dogs, larger dogs, treatment room, grooming, laundry, an office, food preparation, storage and other uses.

Stedman said there would be isolation areas for sick animals, a multi-purpose room for meetings and volunteer training.

“Being able to have space for each of these operations that takes place is going to be great,” Stedman said.

The new, larger shelter, Stedman said, will promote better care for the animals and a better environment for adoptions and volunteers.

“We are very much looking forward to the fact that there will be other people who will be more than willing to come out and donate their time, whether it’s walking animals, grooming and just assisting with operations,” she said.

An expansion of the shelter may occur in the future as it is needed, Stedman said.

The humane society is now, Stedman said, focused on getting the shelter built as soon as possible.

Stedman said NACHS would like to thank everyone who has contributed to getting the new shelter built.

“I’ve always said that the way that a community treats its animals speaks to the character of the community,” she said.