A nonprofit that for nearly 20 years has been building support for a local animal shelter says its dream could become reality within the next year.

Concerned Citizens for Animal Care of Warren County (CCAC) has raised more than $150,000 in donations and assets, and plans to begin building for a 2021 opening date, said Vice President Wanda Thomas.

The planned location for the shelter is on Highway M, just west of the intersection with Highway F, Thomas said. The 3-acre lot will provide ample room for dogs, at a site that is not too far, but not too close, to Wright City and Warrenton.

“We have to stay away from everybody’s houses and subdivisions, because nobody wants a bunch of barking dogs,” Thomas commented.

Preliminary designs for the animal shelter include space for 20 to 24 dogs and 25 cats, in facilities that are specifically designed for the needs of a shelter. For CCAC, it would be the culmination of two decades of selling a vision to supporters who believe in the need for a county-wide animal shelter and rescue service.

“The entire community who put that $150,000 in, they’ve been with us the whole time. We couldn’t have done this without them,” Thomas said.

Actual construction of the shelter will be made possible through a partnership with a private developer, who will build and own the shelter building, and lease it exclusively to CCAC, Thomas said. She declined to share the name of the developer until the deal is finalized.

“Our money is going to go to the inside work, the kennels, all the stuff that has to happen inside to get the shelter functional,” Thomas said.

Future fundraising will go toward operating the shelter and paying the lease. Thomas said she hopes CCAC will eventually be able to convert the lease into purchasing the shelter, but the details haven’t been decided.

“It really helps us to lease, because then we can use the (rest of) the money to get things going,” Thomas said. “It’s a whole lot easier to raise money once you have a shelter, than when you don’t.”

One of the biggest fundraisers for the shelter is the annual Woofstock festival, which hosted its fourth year of activities Saturday at Diekroeger Park in Wright City.

“In a rural area, we have minimal animal control for people to be able to drop off dogs they’ve found, or check for a microchip, or even spay and neuter programs,” said Woofstock event planner Bella France. “The whole point of this is to get something built in our rural community to benefit everyone out here.”

France said Woofstock also serves to educate local people about animal care and local services that are available. She said she hopes the animal shelter will eventually serve as a central contact point to help people reach those same resources.

For more information and event notices from CCAC, or to donate, visit CCAC’s website — ccacwc.com — or find @CCACWC on Facebook.