The first phase of the shelter will be 12,000 square feet. The final building will be 20,000 square feet, said project architect David Quillin, with 50 dog kennels and 25 cat rooms, outdoor runs for the dogs and screened porches for the cats.

The shelter is being built off of Route 9 between Milton and Georgetown.

The shelter will house dogs that need new homes in kennels designed to keep the dogs comfortable and relaxed, said Quillin.

“This is not a traditional kennel. It has glass and aluminum enclosures, the theory being that looking through a cage is antagonizing and upsetting to the animals,” he said.

The design uses glass walls, which shelter organizers say will make dogs quieter and happier in the shelter, and therefore more adoptable, he said.

“If they’re relaxed from the start, it’s easy to move them into a new home,” said Quillin.

The shelter is designed to capture summer breezes, while blocking storm winds and to maximize natural light to minimize energy use, Quillin said. Water that runs off the roof will be captured and used to wash down animal areas, he said.

Safe Haven has already begun rehoming Delaware dogs in New England, where spay-and-neuter programs have been so successful that Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine must import dogs to meet demand, said Safe Haven Executive Director Anne Gryczon.

Safe Haven takes dogs picked up by state animal-control officers to other states in monthly transports.

Gryczon said Safe Haven’s ultimate goal is that Delaware, through a no-kill program that emphasizes sterilization, become another state that needs to import dogs from other states’ shelters.

She said her hope is that within two to three years, Delaware’s spay-neuter efforts will have been successful enough that dogs from other states will be brought here to find homes.

Along with dog transports, Safe Haven is focusing on spaying and neutering feral cats in the region and a pet-food pantry, which is designed to help animal owners in financial trouble keep their pets, Gryczon said.

“With cats, we put stress on retention,” she said. The facility, when opened, will have two staff vets to treat shelter animals and pets from the public, Gryczon said.

There will be a public leash-free dog park, and play yards for dogs living at the shelter.

Gryczon said she expects Safe Haven will employ a minimum of 12 people in full-time and part-time roles, along with volunteers. “To run a shelter, you really need a combination of volunteers and paid staff. You can’t do it without both,” she said.