GEORGETOWN, Texas — This week, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter took in 20 dogs in a single day.
"To put that in perspective, one of our adoption rooms has 12 kennels," said Misty Valenta, who runs the shelter. "So, in one day, we got in more dogs than that could fill one of our adoption rooms."
Valenta added the shelter can "comfortably" fit 100 dogs. As of this week, they housed 190 dogs in kennels. To try and get more dogs fostered and adopted out quickly, Valenta and her staff created a so-called "Preventing Euthanasia" list.
"Generally speaking, shelters make euthanasia lists when they're over capacity. That's just not something that we were comfortable with here. That's not the way we run the shelter," Valenta said. "We kind of turned it on its head and said, 'What if we put out a list of dogs who we think are the easiest dogs to fit into the most homes and call it the Preventing Euthanasia list? So that way, by saving these dogs, we can save all the dogs."
Valenta noted the shelter is not a mandated "no-kill" shelter. However, since 2010, the shelter has been able to foster or adopt out 90% of the dogs who have come through its doors.
"It's kind of the opposite of a traditional euthanasia list to be on our list: You're friendly with everyone, you would fit into most homes and most living environments, you generally get along with other dogs, kids. The easier that you fit into all of the homes that come and visit us, the more likely you're going to make it onto this list to get adopted quicker," Valenta said.
The list is usually reserved for dogs who have been at the shelter for a while. The typical stay at the shelter for any given dog is around two weeks.
According to Valenta, the shelter has created such a list only three times – all within the last couple of months. Each time, the dogs listed have been fostered or adopted out within days of the list's posting.
"This was a new way to talk about the issue and highlight some of the dogs that shouldn't be here for so long. They're great," Valenta said.
According to the shelter's social media, there is also a "pick your own adoption fee" event happening throughout this week.
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