Wednesday, county officials broke ground on the expansion for the Williamson County Regional Animal shelter that will double its size.
The expansion will include a new two-story building with new dog and cat adoption kennels, a new exercise area for the dogs, a new parking lot, lobby and offices.
The current building will also be renovated with a new surgery area, and repairs to the AC and plumbing.
"This is going to impact the community in a great way, we'll be able to serve you better,” said Misty Valenta with the shelter.
In total, it's expected to cost just more than $9 million.
“This is something we've been hoping for for a very long time and to actually see construction beginning is really hopeful, this means that we'll be able to save more lives,” said Valenta.
According to Valenta, during part of the construction, they'll lose some of the kennel space, so they'll partially move to the show barn in San Gabriel Park, but they'll also need extra fosters.
"We’re constantly over capacity at our shelter, it's just too small for the community that we live in,” said Valenta.
In the end, they’ll add 64 new dog kennels for a total of 149, and add 93 new cat kennels for a total of 186.
They hope to be done with construction by next spring.
While they have money for the building, they are still raising money for new supplies. You can donate here.