SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Last week, the Hays County Commissioners Court voted to support a resolution that would create a plan to make the San Marcos shelter “no-kill.”
• 2018 report says shelter achieved a 74 percent live-outcome rate
• Latest report is a 33 percent increase from the year before
It was one more step in the process of the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter one day achieving a 90 percent live-outcome rate, which is what's needed to be considered no-kill.
Council members Melissa Derrick, along with Lisa Prewitt and Jane Hughson are advocating for the council to pass a resolution to work toward that no-kill status. Derrick said there's a work session scheduled in early November to discuss and there will hopefully be a vote in December.
"Other cities, I'm really happy, have taken to the no-kill initiative and have passed resolutions. However, since we are the ones that manage the shelter, we're the ones that have the burden of figuring out what strategies to come up with to implement no kill and what choices we actually have to present to the council on how to proceed," Derrick said.
If the council does vote to make the shelter a no-kill facility, that means more manpower that's needed.
"We were able to, in late August just before the budget was finished, hire several new shelter positions including a badly needed volunteer coordinator and a social media and communications person to help us increase live outcomes as we work towards getting the no kill equation as a resolution on the city council's agenda. It's a community problem and it's going to take a community effort to solve it,” said Derrick.
Over the last two decades, Hays County Animal Advocates volunteer Sharri Boyett has seen the San Marcos shelter take on the task of serving all of Hays County.
"There were less people in the county and it was not a regional shelter at that time, it was just the local animals. So the growth has been highly detrimental to live outcomes," Boyett said.
The good news is in a newly released Fiscal Year 2018 report, the shelter achieved a 74 percent live-outcome rate, which is a 33 percent increase from the year before. The goal is to maintain a 90 percent rate to be considered a "no kill" shelter.
The shelter's report also showed a record number of adoptions, and outlined goals for next year that include adding a new program coordinator, a donation fund for spay and neuter assistance, and expanding rehoming opportunities throughout the community.
"We want this, so if we want this, we have to agree we're going to foster, we're going to donate, we're going to adopt and together we can make it happen," Boyett said.