For years now we've worked with Toya Stone, a Wags board member and Victoria resident, rescuing dogs in her area. Some of you may remember last August after Hurricane Harvey when Wags went to Victoria to help with animal search and rescue before rising flood waters could do more damage. Toya was a driving force in coordinating our efforts with local law enforcement and other volunteers.
She and other caring citizens in Victoria have come together to assist the local shelter with rescue. During this past year we've had several productive working sessions with the shelter director and others in the community to find creative solutions that will increase adoptions and improve outcomes for animals at the shelter.
Solutions for the local shelter to increase adoptions and community support
Jennifer Carroll, our director, made a trip to Victoria just this past week. She and Toya met with the head volunteer to activate new processes to increase donations, implement improved intake vaccination protocol that will save a lot of lives, training on how to treat common intake ailments, and launched a volunteer coordination program.
We did a deep clean of select kennels specifically to house adoptable puppies who are most at risk of contracting diseases such as Parvo. The dogs in this program will be vaccinated on intake and have a fast track to spay/neuter and adoption. Our goal is more dogs out of the shelter into great homes.
Finally, we created some best practices that focus on marketing of adoptable animals including a great group of dogs that were part of the Petsmart national adoption weekend. We did the first Victoria Animal Control Instagram post too!
But we're not done yet!
Rescue and animal welfare goes beyond shelter walls. It's also about protecting animals in the community from abuse or neglect. We are currently working on a proposal to update the Victoria city and county ordinances to tighten up the laws pertaining to animal welfare. A big focus is on outside dogs including chaining and inclement weather, the definition of adequate care, and breeding. This is a process but we look forward to supporting county leadership.
We want to say a big thank you to Craig Kirkpatrick, Kellie, the Shaws, the Walychows, and the staff at Victoria Animal Control for working with us last week! We are excited to continue our partnership with you and the Victoria community to improve the lives of your city's citizens, their pets, and animals in need. Way to become the change we want to see in this world!
Do you want to support the work we are doing in Victoria? You can help by donating at the link below.