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Pets will be fixed before leaving shelter By Tessa Moll All adoptable animals will be spayed or neutered before leaving the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter to either off-site adoption sites or with new pet owners, board members decided in a meeting Thursday. The shelter previously allowed new pet owners to take their animal home immediately. The staff is supposed to contact them to arrange the medical service or reimburse them if they went to a local veterinarian to have their new pet spayed or neutered. Pct. 1 Commissioner Lisa Birkman of Round Rock had not heard back from staff three weeks after adopting a new dog from the regional shelter, she said at commissioners court meeting last week. She instead went ahead and had her local veterinarian perform the procedure. Staff from the county auditors office, who have been helping arrange the shelter reports, estimated more than 200 adopted animals have yet to be surgically altered (spayed or neutered). “We need to fix this,” said Lt. Bob Drawbaugh, the Round Rock representative and board president. “What has happened in the past will not happen again.” Animal shelters must have all adopted pets spayed or neutered, given rabies shots and have a chip implant, in accordance with state laws. Under the new policy, the board said they will work to find a veterinarian who will provide services one to two days a week, performing between 20 to 30 surgeries a day. The shelter director will have the discretion to alter animals that appear easily adoptable. Many animals at the regional shelter move to off-site adoption areas with rescue groups on the weekends, and Pct. 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said she hopes to have those animals already fixed so owners can take them home immediately. Another option, which board members considered in addition to the on-site vet, is using the EmanciPet services, a non-profit organization that can perform the surgeries in a mobile unit at the shelter site or bus them to a unit for a $5 service charge. Auditing staff will be drafting a letter to notify all the new pet owners that their animal needs to be fixed within 30 days. Covey said she thinks having EmanciPet on-site will improve compliance. In other board action: A contract with Hills Science Diet is currently on hold due to the volume of donations the shelter has received. The dog-food company is offering the county free food in exchange for advertising at the shelter, which must pay delivery costs. Interim Shelter Director Dr. Dana Boehm, a former Hutto veterinarian, said she soon wanted a single brand of food so new pet owners will know what to feed their animals. Hutto's Animal Control Officer Becky Mitchell will be helping the shelter perform euthanasia, according to Assistant City Manager Joni Clarke, a board member. The shelter received a $50,000 donation from a legal settlement with the county, Covey announced. During an executive session, board members discussed additional staff - two new positions were added immediately last week - and how to best include the money in the budget.
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