fUrever homes The path to
who maybe needs to be separated for their time here. So there’s a lot of variables there.” A 92% live outcome rate still means 8% of cats and dogs do not leave the shelter alive. In 2021, 10 cats and dogs went missing or lost, 100 died in care and 206 were euthanized. But euthanasia is not warranted by length of stay alone, Krupinsky said. “Every pet is unique. There are some that are com- fortable in the shelter environment for any length of time. We watch for changes in behavior, appetite, weight loss and medical issues. At that point we would try medical intervention, rescue plea, and/ or assess for foster placement,” she said. “Humane euthanasia is used to end medical suffering or when the animal is a danger to itself or people.” Funding the shelter While the SMRAS is in San Marcos, managed and staffed by the city, its funding is allocated through not only general fund coffers of the city of SanMarcos but also Hays County, Buda and Kyle, as they transport animals collected in their jurisdictions to the SMRAS. That funding is allocated annually based on the per- centage of use—or intake of animals from each area— in each municipality, with San Marcos usually being close to half of the source of all new intake animals. The total funding for the shelter for FY 2020-21was almost $1.5 million, according to city documents. The Hays County Commissioners Court awarded a contract Feb. 15 to Team Shelter USA, a national animal welfare consulting firm, to study what needs exist in Hays County for animal services, including whether another shelter might be warranted. “The regional shelter has continued to get over- crowded, especially with all the changes that have been made to try to get a greater percentage of no kill. And that has put a lot of stress on our shelter, and all the partners understand that,” Hays County Commissioner Lon Shell said. Shell said that the county recognizes additional sheltering services or additions to the existing shel- ter or modifications will be needed in the near future in order to accommodate growth in the county, as well as to achieve higher “no-kill” percentages. Shell said the idea of hiring a consultant arose from wanting outside experts to look at the unique circumstances that exist locally and determine the best course forward, be that a new facility or multi- ple facilities to aide in alleviating current and future constraints on animal services. “They’ll get going and start meeting with folks, doing their due diligence and research. And then I’m hoping that by the end of the summer we could have [something] deliverable,” Shell said. Other resources for animals While the SMRAS is the only public intake shelter in Hays County, there are other shelters and organi- zations that help alleviate overcrowding and foster- ing of animals that end up in the system. PAWS Shelter of Central Texas was founded in Kyle in 1986 and opened a second shelter in Dripping Springs in 2019. The nonprofit shelter predates the SMRAS, and while not an intake shelter, it does help adopt out cats and dogs that begin in the SMRAS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
WHAT IS A LIVE INTAKE? WHAT IS LIVE OUTCOME RATE? Live outcome refers to any cat or dog that exits the shelter as an adoptee or returned to owner. Live intake refers to any cat or dog brought into the shelter alive. Part of achieving no-kill status for a shelter is to stay above a 90% live outcome rate. For most of FY 2020-21, the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter maintained that benchmark of 10% or less animals dying in care, requiring euthanasia or experiencing another non-live outcome as new arrival numbers fluctuated.
LIVE INTAKES
500
LIVE INTAKE BREAKDOWN
400
Kittens
Dogs 1,346 33%
1,272 31%
300
LIVE INTAKES TOTAL 4,059
200
100
Puppies
Cats 714 18%
727 18%
0
FY 2020-21
LIVE OUTCOME RATES
100%
LIVEOUTCOME BREAKDOWN
Rescue transfer
Adoption
95%
2,076 57%
22% 787
90%
LIVE OUTCOMES TOTAL 3,617
85%
Returned to owner
Goal set by city and county officials for live outcome rates to remain above 90% .
556 15%
80%
*THIS CATEGORY IS MAINLY TRAP, NEUTER AND RELEASE FERAL CATS.
Service out*
0%
198 6%
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOS/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
FY 2020-21
manager and officially begins that role later inMarch. The shelter does not house unrelated animals together and does not house opposite sex animals that are not altered already together, Banduch said. Banduch said that if for instance two male dogs that were found running together, they would go in the same kennel together, as they would not breed and are familiar with each other. “It’s kind of like the buddy system for those guys where you’re not all alone in the shelter. If we have a mother with puppies or kittens, they’re obviously going to be housed together,” Banduch said. “We just have to kind of make those decisions based on each individual animal or group of animals that comes in, who should stay together in a kennel and
CONTINUED FROM 1
January 2021 to January 2022, the average number of animals in the shelter systemwas 192 cats and 115 dogs. The highest point-in-time count within that period was 362 cats and 161 dogs, according to an annual report from Animal Services. “We can expand that for temporary holding using smaller pop-up cages, and of course, foster homes,” Krupinsky said. The kennel-to-animal ratio is not always one to one, as some situations where the animals are familiar or get along might mean they can be paired, said Chris- tie Banduch, interim animal services manager for the SMRAS. Banduchwas recently named animal services
26
Powered by FlippingBook