“From Animal Services, all of the cats and dogs, I say, welcome to this great occasion.” That is how Tom Hoefer, Calcasieu Parish director of communications and media, started the Tuesday event to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Calcasieu Parish Animal Services and Adoption Center at 5500-A Swift Plant Road.

This could very well be the first official groundbreaking in which a dog participated. Lucy, a 2-year-old Australian Shepherd mix, was adopted after she posed, along with the rest of the officials.

Anthony Bartie, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury president, called the project “the culmination of work from a lot of people,” and a project that was “easy to say yes” to because it is much-needed.

The city of Lake Charles and the city of Westlake mayors were there to mark the occasion.

“There is a potential for cities to operate their own animal services,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said. “But one thing that the city of Lake Charles has found, and this has been for decades, is that this is one of those partnerships that really make sense.”

Hunter gave kudos to architect Jeff Kudla and Keiland Construction, congratulating the Police Jury for their choice.

Westlake Mayor Hal McMillin talked about how pets are part of the family. His dogs certainly are. He commended the work and responsiveness of Claire Terracina, Animal Services and Adoption Center manager.

“We have a great facility here and we’re about to get a better facility,” McMillin said.

Nathan Aereno, Animal Services and Adoption Center director, said the plans for the new facility have been 10 years in the making.

“He thought about jurors past and present as well as staff, some of whom are now retired, that advocated for a new facility.

The bond-funded $19 million project includes the construction of three new 4,400-square foot kennel buildings, a 2,800-square-foot feline building, a 13,500-square-foot-intake building, a 4,436 enforcement building, as well as the renovation of the existing administration building.

In 2015, the Police Jury brought in a national consultant, Jackson and Ryan Architects, to work with Kudla Architects to design a solid, modern facility that could handle the parish’s existing and future needs. The project went through several redesigns. Officials were hoping to break ground in 2020, but the pandemic and the hurricanes delayed the project.

The original facility, built in 1998, was damaged in Hurricane Rita and again in the 2020 hurricanes. The new buildings will be built using new standards to make them more resilient.

Work on the project will begin immediately, and it is estimated to be completed by late summer 2026.