Private group seeks $2.7M in state funds to create regional animal shelter A private funding group that has been working for four years to build a new animal shelter in Ouachita Parish has shifted the scope of the project after raising $1.2 million in private and public funds. Now, they're asking for $2,658,154 in capital outlay dollars in the 2021 regular legislative session. SOS Pets of Ouachita launched in 2017 with an initial goal to raise $800,000 in two years. The organization has had different building plans over time to create a new adoption center with heated indoor-outdoor kennels and a fenced-in play area. Joan Cooper Hampton, director of SOS, said the scope of the project has radically changed.