BATON ROUGE - A new animal shelter is under construction and will open in just a few months.

Companion Animal Alliance, a non-profit organization, contracted through East Baton Rouge City-Parish, is currently housed in a smaller facility near the Baton Rouge Airport.

The CAA is moving into a new $12 million shelter on the LSU campus. The funds for this project were donated through private donors and companies.

The new shelter is 30,000 square feet, and will have dozens of kennels for both cats and dogs, as well as other animals.

"It'll be a place where people would want to come, as opposed to the dog pound which is how the existing shelter looks," said Patricia Calfee, who works alongside Companion Animal Alliance.

The shelter will house more than 300 animals and there will be veterinarian spaces as well as classrooms.

According to the alliance, they've been able to save 42,000 cats, dogs, and other critters. 

"The new shelter should vastly increase the air flow which is crucial in an animal shelter," said Hilton Cole, EBR Animal Control Director.

To prepare for the move, CAA will have a 'Clear the Shelter' adoption event at the existing shelter on Progress Road. For more information, click here.

The shelter will open mid-October.