Everyone pitching in While its name is the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter, it is the only intake shelter in Hays County. This is a breakdown of its funding based on the percentage of shelter intakes from within the county.
take animals from the SMRAS to help alleviate the burden. PAWS was also part of a cohort of organizations that helped guide the SMRAS—as part of a 2018 ini- tiative by San Marcos City Council and other enti- ties—to implement volunteer and foster programs to help alleviate overcrowding. “PAWS, [Austin Pets Alive] put together a task force that went into the San Marcos shelter because they had no foster programs, no volunteer programs, and we really shared all of our tools, to help them get closer to a no-kill initiative. Because you can’t do no-kill without fosters and volunteers, and it takes a village kind of thing, you know?” Hilburn said. Sharri Boyett, Hays County animal advocate and community liaison, said putting all these pieces together will help achieve the goal of getting the SMRAS to no-kill status. “The good news is the live outcome rate, which is the goal for 90% or more. That’s the typically accepted definition of what a no-kill is. But to do that, you have to have a long, sustained commit- ment to not euthanize for space, and to implement programs for community cats and compassionate leadership and volunteer participation. Those things are not necessarily happening the way they are. It’s a component to the no-kill equation,” Boyett said. Other efforts by cities and advocacy groups could lead to fewer animals in the system, such as regu- lations on commercial pet sales, as was considered recently by San Marcos City Council but ultimately tabled, said Stacy Sutton Kerby, director of govern- ment relations with the Texas Humane Legislation Network. City Council is expected to revisit the issue. It was modeled on a bill in the 87th Texas Legislature— House Bill 1818— that did not make it through the 2021 session. The regulation would require publicly visible documentation of where every animal is sourced from and maintain that record for one year following the date the pet store takes possession of the dog or cat, be it an animal shelter, private breed- ing facility or other source. A record would have to be displayed next to the cage or enclosure each dog or cat is kept in detailing the name and contact information of its origin. The new rule would have only applied to commer- cial pet stores, not individual breeders that raise dogs or cats in their home, according to the documents.
How to adopt These steps need to be kept in mind when considering adoption.
1 2 4 3
Plan for the adoption fee. The current fee is $97.
Go online to see the current adoptable pets. Email the shelter at animaladoptions@sanmarcostx.gov or call 512-805-2657 during the shelter’s open hours.
CITYOF SANMARCOS
$722,027
Bring your ID. If you have a dog currently, bring it too, to see if it will get along.
HAYS COUNTY
Total funding for FY 2020-21 $1,497,981
$483,848
If you rent, check your lease to determine if you need to pay a pet deposit or pet rent, or if there are breed restrictions.
CITYOF KYLE
$244,171
SanMarcos Regional Animal Shelter 750 River Road, San Marcos To view pets in person, visit during adoption center hours: Mon.-Tue., Thu.-Fri. noon-7 p.m.; Sat. noon-5 p.m.; closed Sun., Wed.
CITYOF BUDA
80
$47,935
35
PHOTOS BY ERIC WEILBACHER/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCES: CITY OF SAN MARCOS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
system as well as those that come from elsewhere. With the new shelter in Dripping Springs, however, PAWS has done some open intake that it felt was nec- essary, Executive Director Melody Hilburn said. “We would not normally open intake; we’re just trying to support the community over there, because they really don’t have anything other than a 50-mile drive [to SMRAS]. So, when a stray comes in, then we go through the regular process of check- ing them out physically, posting them on all of the numerous lost and found boards out in Hays County and Blanco [County],” Hilburn said. The Kyle facility still refers people who bring in animals they found or want to surrender to the SMRAS, Hilburn said. As a no-kill shelter, PAWS [and Austin Pets Alive] keeps animals for as long as it needs to but does not take in any more than it can handle at one time. When it does have room, it will
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SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Kerby said restrictions on the sale of pets at pet stores that limit where the animals originate from, such as prohibiting pets from large out-of-state breeders, can help dampen the total number of ani- mals that end up in the system. “When you have a humane sourcing requirement in your local retail pet sales ordinance—that is if the pets have to come from animal services or shelter or a rescue group—that helps to alleviate pressure on the shelter,” Kerby said.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
GOT HAIL? WANT SOLAR? HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT SOLAR SHINGLES?
(830) 947-ROOF • WWW.DIVIDEDSKYNB.COM
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SAN MARCOS - BUDA - KYLE EDITION • MARCH 2022
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