Construction of the new Lafayette County animal shelter has been delayed but is moving forward.

The shelter was expected to be completed by early October; however, Board of Supervisors president Brent Larson said the contractor had a medical emergency which has delayed the completion.

According to Larson, the interior walls and ceiling are almost complete.

“The next phase will be cabinets, trimming and then painting,” Larson said. “The interior walls are complete. The exterior runs have started but we’ll wait until the painting is complete to finish those runs.”

He said the sewer, water and electricity will soon be connected.

The county is building the shelter but will outsource the management and operation of the shelter.

Board of Supervisors president Brent Larson said the board has selected a group to run the shelter, however, they are not releasing who it is until the final contracts have been signed.

The site is located off Industrial Park Road, in the Lafayette County Max D. Hipp Industrial Park, northwest of where Good Day Farms is located in the park.

The 4,160-square-foot building sits on 3 acres and provides plenty of outdoor exercise area.

There is currently no animal shelter in the county. The Oxford Animal Resource Center does not take in animals from outside of the city limits due to county leaders deciding not to provide funding to ARC but rather build a shelter in the county.