Each time someone entered the large steel building that will eventually become the site of the Central Alabama Animal Shelter,

a small black-and-white puppy named Daisy was there to greet them with slobbery kisses or a wag of her tail.

The little pooch had a lot to be excited about. Daisy had once been a resident of the animal shelter before being adopted by a family, and now she was back to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new home for her fellow compatriots.

After years of delays and setbacks, the animal shelter is nearly complete. The new location will be a far cry from the trailer on Highway 80 currently serving as headquarters for the county’s homeless or abandoned animals.

Bob Myers, president of the animal shelter’s board of directors, said the 12,000 square foot building will contain 84 kennels for adult dogs, a puppy room, a feline room, examination and quarantine rooms, and a fenced grassy area for the dogs to exercise.

“This day has been a long time coming,” Myers said. “The bond issue was passed in December of 1999, so we have been working on this for quite a while.”

State law requires counties to establish animal shelters to handle the issue of abandoned pets. The City of Selma, as well as Dallas County, is responsible for providing the funds to keep the Central Alabama Animal Shelter in operation.

Teresa Martin, operations manager for the animal shelter, said the shelter has been dealing with overcrowding for several years.

“We have 20 pens right now, but we’re housing 45 to 60 dogs,” Martin said. “We have over 40 cats. This new place is a dream come true for us.”

Mayor James Perkins, Jr. said the process of finding a location for a new animal shelter was riddled with difficulties, but the tireless efforts of the city council and the shelter’s board of directors have finally paid off in a big way.

“This project has been on again, off again as we tried to find the right property for the shelter,” Perkins said. “We has to speck and re-speck this building to get the cost down.”

Probate Judge Johnny Jones said all the animal shelter’s board members are all volunteers, and dealing with the long process of finding a new location for the shelter was likely “not a pleasurable job, but I’m glad they hung in there.”

Myers said remodeling of the building should be completed in about 90 days. The new shelter will have central heating and air, and a industrial-sized washtub to give the animals baths before introducing them to the rest of the shelter’s population.

“I never thought this would happen,” said Faye Carter, a long-time board member of the animal shelter. “We have been wanting this forever. We couldn’t have done this without help. There are so many advantages to this new building. We are going to be in better shape.”

Cater said though most of the animals at the shelter do not have pedigrees, they often make the best pets.

“Adopting a dog or cat from the shelter is a humane thing to do. It saves their lives,” Carter said. “These animals need the most care and love.”

If the happy personality of Daisy was any indication, the little pup could not have agreed more.