Wednesday, November 28, 2012

No Kill Wilco in the Georgetown Sun

So many exciting things are happening right now, of which I am most excited about my new partnership between No Kill Wilco and Georgetown Animal Outreach. With our plans to open an adoption facility next year, we are reaching out to the media and starting our search for the perfect location to house our pets. 


A couple of days ago, I did an interview with a reporter for the Geogretown Sun, a local newspaper. The article came out today and of course I want to share it!

'Rising Number of Strays Straps Shelter"
by Brianne Tolj

To stem a rising tide of stray animals and maintain its no kill state, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter is relying on nonprofits to bolster lagging adoptions. No Kill Wilco and Georgetown Animal Outreach this month announced that they plan to open an adoption shelter that will take animals from the county and house them until they are adopted, said Stephanie Conrad, president of No-Kill Wilco.

“The Regional Shelter is growing beyond its capacity,” said Ms. Conrad. “There are hoes out there –why should we take their life away when we can find them homes?”


To remain a no kill facility, the county shelter must have a save-rate above 90%. However, as the number of dogs and cats being broug in continues to increase every year, the shelter is struggling to stay above water. Last year, the shelter’s no kill rate was 91percent but the number of animals taken into the shelter is increasing by around 500 each year, said Misty Valenta, the community outreach coordinator for the shelter. In 2011-2012, the shelter received 3020 cats and 4454 dogs, according to its annual report. In the previous year, the shelter received 2707 cats ad 4127 dogs. Causes for the increase are more stray animals being brought to the shelter as well as a jump in owner surrenders, where owners release their pets to the shelter because they are no longer able to take care of them, said Ms. Valenta.

Another reason for the rise is the lack of area non-profits that find homes for animals that are at risk of euthanasia by bringing them into their own facilities and holding adoption events, said Ms. Valenta.

Many of those non-profit organizations are based in Austin and are focused on saving local pets, she said.

If No Kill Wilco and Georgetown Animal Outreac’s goal of creating such a facility to focus on Williamson County animals comes to fruition, it would be a big help, said Ms. Valenta.  “It would increase the save rate and we would have more resources here for the animals.”

No Kill Wilco hosts an adoption event on the third Saturday of every month at Central Texas Harley Davidson, said Ms. Conrad. “We basically invite all of the area rescue organizations to come out and bring their dogs.”

“The adoption rate [at this event] is about one dog per hour”, Ms. Conrad added.

Ms. Conrad said No Kill Wilco and Georgetown Animal Outreach are looking for a facility and are hoping for someone to donate an available space, such as a warehouse or business facility that is not in use.

The groups plan to open the shelter by the middle of 2013.

As we move forward with our plans for the facility, we are of course going to be looking for new volunteers and foster homes! As new events progress with this amazing partnership, I will be keeping everyone posted! :-)

Stephanie Conrad
Pet Studio Art | Owner | Artist