SAN MARCOS, Texas – The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter is celebrating the highest live-release month in its history with a 98.2 percent live-release outcome reported for the month of April. This is due to a large population of animals going into new forever or foster homes during this COVID-19 pandemic, when a lot of families have had more available free time.

"The whole situation has not been great, but the way this community has responded has been very encouraging to us," Animal Services Manager Jeanne Saadi said. "Our community is fortunate to have a large network of knowledgeable, passionate fosters and advocates who have made this possible. We’ll work to continue this momentum so that these significant breakthrough results will become a regular occurrence.”

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the shelter has been closed to visitors so staff has engaged the community and enacted creative outreach efforts including virtual matchmaking and social media events. The shelter has prioritized maintaining adequate space for emergency housing, so residents who find a friendly stray dog or cat have been encouraged to use the physical shelter as a last-resort destination.

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“A huge part of our mission right now is letting people know about options beyond shelter drop-off,” Saadi said. “By safely keeping and returning animals to their rightful owners, our community has helped us focus our resources and finances on the animals in the shelter.”

For owners looking to surrender their pets, Saadi wants them to know there are options available before they take that step.

"A lot of pet owners may be struggling right now, so we want them to reach out to us for help before they make the decision to surrender their pets. We may have some resources that can help them keep their pets. Right now, for sure we can offer you pet food and pet supplies. Our goal is to keep pets with their families," Saadi said.

There are still plenty of dogs and cats available to be adopted or fostered, including a 2-year-old ​Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Miller. Miller is a long-stay dog and has been in the shelter since December 23 and could really use a loving home.

"He's a really good dog, he just doesn't get along well with smaller animals. His prey drive kind of takes over. Other than that, he's great with dogs his size. He's been fostered a few times and come back for different reasons. He was left with a rabbit and he got a hold of it. But he doesn't know," said Lead Shelter Technician Sydney Bonnin. "He's super gentle, super sweet. Especially pits, they get a bad rap."

Miller is heartworm positive, which does add a complication, but it's a very treatable disease with the right care and attention. He's also been in and out of foster homes that haven't quite worked out in the past. He's hoping his next trip out of the shelter will be his last.

"It's very confusing for him. He completely shuts down when he comes back. Once he's in that kennel, he's just very shut down," Bonnin said.

Now’s the time to take home any animal at the shelter for five days over the Memorial Day weekend holiday. Staff will provide everything you need, you just have to be willing to sign some paperwork and try not to get too attached during this trial period... or do! Foster fails are welcome.

"We started calling them foster wins actually," Saadi said.

Getting the animals out of the shelter not only gives them a vacation, Saadi said the staff could get a much needed break.

“They have worked so hard through so much uncertainty here at the shelter and still have done a fantastic job with getting us our highest live-release rate in history and continuing that success even afterwards, we really want to reward them too,” Saadi said.

Moving forward, Saadi said "foster-to-adopt" will also be an option available to potential adopters who want to see if a dog or cat would be a good fit for their home. 

SMRAS services all of Hays County. Foster appointments and adoptions are being handled online and by appointment. The shelter is offering a “Pay What You Can” adoption fee special to help keep open kennels during the COVID-19 crisis.