FERRIDAY &045;&045; The Concordia Animal Welfare Shelter will hold a poker run at 2 p.m. at The Dock on Lake St. John to raise funds to finish the animal control building at its facility on First Street.

Registration will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at The Dock for $25 per hand. The run will include five piers. The event will also include music from Black Bayou and Ready or Not starting at 7 p.m. at The Dock.

The need for such facility in Concordia Parish is great, Director Lisa Smith said. She estimated 600 animals have been surrendered to CAWS over two years, with only 20 percent adopted.

&uot;We had 40 animals left here when I came in&uot; Wednesday, Smith said.

The shelter has already finished and is operating an adoption center with a puppy room, four large dog rooms and three cat rooms that, as of Friday, housed 48 animals. Another seven were in outside kennels.

Next, a roof will be installed on the kennels, work that’s already been paid for, Smith said.

The entire interior of the animal control building must be built and furnished, and that’s what today’s event will help pay for. Other sources of funds have included a $15,000 state rural development grant.

In the future, Smith hopes to construct low-cost spaying and neutering facilities in the parish’s low-income areas, from which most of CAWS’ dropped-off pets have come.

While the facility needs money, materials, volunteers, pet adopters and skilled contracting help, the thing it needs most, Smith said, &uot;is for people to spay or neuter their pets.&uot;

To donate to CAWS or adopt a pet, or for more information, call (318) 757-CAWS (2297). A Web site is in the process of being set up at www.caws.petfinder.com and has already made several adoptions, Smith said.