Natchez-Adams County Humane Society leaders shared good news with our community last week when they confirmed the group is within weeks of signing a contract for the construction of a new facility.

As most here know, the humane society’s present facility on Liberty Road is woefully, embarrassingly inadequate.

The road to getting to this point in the process of constructing a new animal shelter was long, winding and full of potholes, but the end of the planning process is near and a new building will soon be a reality.

By all accounts, the Natchez Adams County Humane Society staff and volunteers are dedicated and hard working. We cannot imagine the emotional toll required to deal with heartbreaking, life-or-death decisions they are forced to make every day.

A new facility will surely go a long way toward easing a bit of the burden they face in working in the shelter.

However, a new building is just one need of the Natchez Adams County Humane Society and the animals it serves.

Our community can help the society in so many ways. Volunteer to help socialize shelter animals. Buy extra cat litter or paper towels or cleaning supplies when shopping and donate them to the shelter.

Remember the shelter when making charitable donations, or cleaning out of closets and donating items to the shelter’s thrift stores, which support the humane society. We can support the society’s events, like last weekend’s Bark in the Park.

Mostly, we can make certain our pets are spayed or neutered and don’t add to the sad problem of animal overpopulation here, as well as support the cause of low-cost spay and neuter services and clinics.

The issue of neglected, abused and abandoned animals here is very much the problem of each of us. It’s a problem that was ultimately caused by human beings, and only we can fix it.