The Mower County Humane Society’s new animal shelter will be completed on time by the end of February, though organizers say shelter animals won’t move into the new place until later this spring.

MCHS President Jay Lutz said the new shelter’s exterior is complete, and about 90 percent of the interior walls are up.

“It’s going really well,” Lutz said.

MCHS volunteers are still looking to raise funds for the landscaping work, utilities and roadside assessments involved with putting in a new road — 22nd Street Southeast, which will connect to the new shelter — as well as the city’s new animal pound.

The humane society’s next fundraising effort is the annual MCHS pasta dinner, which will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17 inside the Austin Holiday Inn Grand Ballroom. There will also be silent and live auctions, and local band Rush Hour will play at the beginning of the event. Tickets are $10 for adults, $4 for children 8 and younger, and all proceeds go to the humane society’s general fund for expenses and upkeep.

When the building is completed, the real challenge will be to move more than 100 cats and 25 dogs. While volunteers have yet to map out when and how the move will take place, Lutz said, volunteers will most likely move animals in late March or April.

“Perhaps we’ll build an ark,” Lutz said with a laugh.