🐾 Big Step for Avoyelles: $350,000 Funding for Animal Shelter! 🏡

Avoyelles Parish may be closer than ever to establishing its first parishwide animal shelter after $350,000 in state funding was secured during the 2026 legislative session.

State Rep. Daryl Deshotel said the money is available to help establish what has been described as a modest shelter. The funding could allow the Avoyelles Parish Police Jury to renovate an existing parish building or prepare another suitable location instead of beginning the project without construction money.

“The governor signed the bill, which means we have the money,” Deshotel said. “This has been a need in Avoyelles Parish for many years, and I’m excited that we’re finally taking meaningful steps toward making it a reality,” he said.

The need for animal control services has been discussed in Avoyelles Parish for years. Residents regularly report loose dogs, abandoned animals and packs roaming through neighborhoods and along parish roads.

Without a parish shelter, law enforcement officers, parish officials and private rescuers have few places to bring animals that are picked up. Deshotel said the problem involves more than animal welfare. It also affects the safety of families and neighborhoods.

“I’ve visited people who are scared to let their kids play outside because of some of the dogs that are roaming around,” Deshotel said.

Although the state funding represents a major first step, several decisions must still be made before a shelter can open. The Police Jury will be responsible for:

• Selecting a location
• Determining what renovations or construction will be required
• Establishing how the facility will operate

Possible locations in Marksville, Mansura and Cottonport have been discussed. According to Deshotel, the state has also offered a possible location near the prison in Cottonport.

Deshotel said the state has agreed to allow inmate labor to assist with operating the shelter, which could reduce some of the facility’s expenses. Any final location or operating agreement would require approval from parish officials.

The larger challenge may be paying the shelter’s continuing expenses. The $350,000 can help establish the facility, but a shelter will also require:

• Utilities
• Food
• Cleaning supplies
• Transportation
• Veterinary care
• Employees or contracted workers

Parish leaders will also need to establish arrangements for adoptions, rescue transfers and the handling of animals that cannot immediately be placed.

The Police Jury previously voted to call an election to renew the parish Health Unit property tax with additional language allowing part of the revenue to support an animal shelter and animal control services.

The proposal would renew and rededicate an existing tax rather than create a separate new tax. Voters will ultimately decide whether part of the revenue may be used to establish and maintain the shelter.

Until a long-term source of operating money is approved, the shelter’s size, staffing and available services may remain uncertain.

A parish shelter would not necessarily mean every stray animal could be housed indefinitely. Space, staffing and available money would determine how many animals could be accepted.

Parish leaders would also have to adopt policies covering:

• Animal pickups
• Owner surrenders
• Adoptions
• Veterinary treatment
• Dangerous animals
• Cooperation with rescue organizations

The facility could nevertheless give Avoyelles Parish a central location to address roaming and dangerous animals, investigate neglect cases and provide temporary care for dogs and cats that currently have nowhere to go.

Deshotel encouraged residents with ideas or concerns about the proposed shelter to contact their Police Jury representatives as plans move forward.

“It’s going to take the entire community to make this thing work correctly,” Deshotel said.