After years of work, more than a few setbacks and a nearly $2 million price tag, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new Vicksburg Animal Shelter Thursday afternoon.

Several animal lovers and city officials spoke at the event, including Kacie Lindsey, director of the Animal Shelter.

“I’d like to thank everybody for all their support to help make this happen. Thank you to all my volunteers that help on a daily,” Lindsey said. “And I hope to see more volunteers start to come to our new facility.”

Four students from Dana Road Elementary, Benjamin Hardinson, Madison Norfort, Mila Franklin and Darius Course were in attendance to show off their artwork, which will be featured inside the shelter. Fifty frames will be dedicated to the students’ work and will be rotated out with new classes.

Many local organizations and businesses contributed to the project. The Friends of the City of Vicksburg Animal Shelter, a nonprofit, raised $50,000, which paid for improved cat cages.

Missy Arnold, president of the Friends of the City of Vicksburg Animal Shelter, said the long road to a new facility was tough to travel, but worth it in the end.

“With your support, we were able to do a lot of things, especially the cat cages. And I’m sure a lot of people got frustrated with us reaching out our hand to say, ‘please contribute’,” Arnold said. “Look what you’ve done. Look at the cat cages. They are state-of-the-art. We really appreciate your support, and thank you so much.”

The new shelter has four cat rooms, three dog rooms, an intake and treatment room, insulated dog doors and a private room for prospective pet owners to meet the animals.

A number of other speakers remarked on the time it has taken to open the new shelter, which has largely been constructed due to the fact that the previous shelter, located off Highway 61 North, was prone to flooding.

Vicksburg’s Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour said the new shelter was sorely needed.

“So it’s finally here. And all I gotta say is this started almost eight years ago. When I got here, we said we’d get it done,” Monsour said. “And I want to ask for forgiveness for any heated conversations we ever had, but it took a lot of people with a lot of, really, emotion and desire to see this come to fruition. And we just want to say from the City of Vicksburg, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, this is something we undertook. We were serious about it. It was a very long time doing this because we had to go through several different pieces of property, and we had to get it right. And it just took time. It’s here now.”

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. also addressed the crowd.

“This shelter is more than a building. It’s a place where hope and compassion come alive. Caring for animals isn’t just an act of kindness, it’s an expression of humanity at its best. Today I’m honored, in fact especially honored, to be standing here at this time as the mayor of the city. It’s a great day. It’s a great day for Vicksburg,” Flaggs said. “Today we celebrate a grand opening of our new animal shelter, a project that reflects our community and compassion and commitment. This shelter is more than a facility. It’s a place where animals in their need receive their care and a second chance. With this new shelter, we are providing a safe haven for the animals, promoting responsible pet ownership, and strengthening the bonds within our community.”

Animals are scheduled to start arriving at the shelter Monday.