Humane Society of Williamson County

Humane Society of Williamson County

Written by Julia Kennedy Jayes Tuesday, 07 November 2006

High-need for stray care challenges Humane Society

The Humane Society of Williamson County strives to find loving homes for the animals in its care, but as the only intake and shelter facility for the rural areas of the county, their resources have traditionally been spread thin.

“Over the last 10 years or so, we’ve been handling the animal control aspects of care for the rural areas of Williamson County. This means that thousands of animals come through this shelter every year,” Kynama Wald, HSWC director said. “But despite being the primary animal control provider for the area, we are still a non-profit and depend largely on the support of local patrons to cover the cost of these services. The average cost is $215 per animal.”

In addition to handling the intake and sheltering of the areas strays, HSWC also specializes in high-volume adoption and pet retention, including returning pets to homes if they are lost or addressing behavioral issues that allow pets to stay with their current owners.

This includes the area’s only low-cost spay/neuter clinic held every Tuesday for $40 per animal (appointment necessary); a low-cost vaccination and micro-chipping clinic every fourth Saturday (third Saturday for November and December this year – no appointment necessary); and micro-chipping every day of the week for $15. HSWC has no regional restrictions, so customers do not have to live in the county to take advantages of these services.

But that will all change in February when the county opens a new shelter in Georgetown.

“We will transition all stray animals, regardless of how they are found, to the new Georgetown facility,” Wald said. “Anyone who wants to give up their pet or finds a stray will need to take those animals to the new facility.”

This means HSWC will be able to re-double their current efforts.

“We will be offering more services aimed at pet retention: free dog training to our adopters, free behavioral help line, and adoption follow-ups. We will also be expanding our spay/neuter program to twice a week, with an eventual goal of a spay/neuter clinic that offers low-cost services five days per week,” Wald said.

“We have three primary goals: high-volume adoptions, improving pet-retention, and reducing pet overpopulation and euthanasia through our spay/neuter programs. We have wonderful pets for adoption here. People have misconceptions that there must be something wrong with an animal to be at a shelter. But we have pure-breed dogs and cats, animals of all ages, animals with great dispositions and in wonderful health that will fit with any family.”

HSWC is excited about this new time of growth and expanded services, but Wald is quick to remind everyone of the need for local support.

“Donations are how we survive,” she said. “We simply couldn’t do without the financial assistance from our community. They allow us to provide care and services to all of these animals and the county as a whole.”

How to Help:

• Donate money
  • The Abby Angel fund is specifically for animals with great medical needs. Medical costs are typically the highest costs of all the care given at the shelter.
• Volunteer
  • HSWC holds a volunteer orientation on the second Saturday of every month, but you must sign up online.
• Needs List:
  • To donate items or products, check out the needs list on the Web site, www.hswc.net. The list is kept current and helps ensure that your donations are relevant and well-used.

Humane Society of Williamson County, 10930 Crystal Falls Parkway • Leander, 260-3602 •

Hours: Monday-Friday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Saturday: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. • Sunday: 12 p.m.-5 p.m.