Hill County Animal Shelter
Many communities across our country have eliminated the burden of pet
overpopulation for citizens. These
communities embraced proactive measures to overcome the problem; and a key
component in these neighborhoods is a functioning animal shelter that serves as
a foundation to operate supporting integral programs.
Hill County Paw Pals has actively pursued and evaluated designs of animal
shelter facilities across the state and even beyond the state of
Texas. Our
vision is of a shelter that will be a welcome component within the community. Animal shelters can be built so they
emanate a source of pride from the citizens.
A shelter should not have offensive odors or loud noises that deter
volunteers and potential adopting families from visiting the shelter.
Hill County Paw Pals has reviewed
numerous shelter designs and the prime selection is a state-of-the-art 6,260
square feet facility that can easily handle our community’s needs. The estimated cost would be $350,000. The facility is designed to have a
unique plumbing system to enable frequent cleaning to keep the animals safe and
healthy, avoid disease, and also avoid build-up of odor. The facility is planned with three
air conditioned zones for efficient exchange of air. The exterior insulated walls are four
inches thick and a masonry exterior would make it virtually quiet from the
outside.
The location of the animal shelter is a decision that should never be taken
lightly. Progressive communities
have found it is essential to place the shelter in a central location. This brings daily attention to the
issues of pet overpopulation, abandonment, and the need for homes of sheltered
animals. Paw Pals hope is that our
community can move forward to enabling the building of the shelter at the most
prominent site available, adjacent to the Sheriff Office.
Locating the shelter near the Sheriff Office on land already offered for lease
to Paw Pals by Hill County Commissioners Court
will serve to provide an inherently safe environment for volunteers, visitors,
animal control officers, and the animals housed within. The close proximity to the Sheriff
Office should deter cowardly dumping of animals next to the shelter and should
also deter vandalism.
Paw Pals recognizes that zoning changes are not to be taken lightly. However, we also know that zoning law
has to be fluid as the communities served are constantly in a state of growth
and change. Hill County Paw Pals
ultimate goal is to improve
Hill County
with the implementation of an animal shelter that will serve as a nucleus for
proactive animal control. Our hope
is that at some time in the near future, stray dogs and cats will become a
rarity in our community and not common place—just as they are in other parts of
our great nation.
For more information about Hill County Paw Pals, please email
hcpawpals@yahoo.com; or call
254-580-0679.