Georgetown Animal Services

Georgetown police officers and animal control officers are working with the community through an initiative to improve the way officers and animals interact when responding to calls.  Georgetown Police and Georgetown Animal Services recently introduced a new program called Please P.A.W.S – Pets Are Worth Saving, designed to encourage safe interactions between first responders and resident pets.

Through the program, residents place a 3’x3’sticker with the P.A.W.S. symbol on it in a window or near the front gate or door of their home to alert emergency officials that a dog or cat live on the premises.

The sticker features a red stop sign that gives a bright visual warning to first responders as they approach a residence and alerts them to the presence of an animal at the home, and it provides a quick alert to police officers when they respond to a home for an alarm or a 911 call and need to make entry into the home to search it or provide assistance to the resident.  Fire and EMS responders also benefit from this visual warning when they are called to help an injured home owner or are evacuating a home because of a fire or disaster response.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that one out of four people in the United States own at least one dog. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that police and other first responders encounter an animal on one out of every three calls, whether stray animals or owned pets.

The program is a new proactive community policing program initiated by Captain Evelyn McLean and Animal Control Officer Kelly Thyssen.  “We believe that a first responder’s heightened awareness of pets, especially canines, in a home will hopefully decrease negative and potentially dangerous encounters,” Officer Thyssen said.

The Please P.A.W.S. stickers are available for no charge at the Georgetown Public Safety Operation and Training Center (PSOTC), the Georgetown Animal Shelter, and directly from Animal Control Officers in the field.

The City of Georgetown Police Department is located at Public Safety Operations and Training Center at 3500 DB Wood Road, which is next to Fire Station 5.  Contact the department at 512-930-3510 or email pd@georgetown.org. The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter is located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive near the McMaster Athletic Fields. Contact the shelter at (512) 930-3592 or by email at animalsvc@georgetown.org. The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter website is pets.georgetown.org.

The Georgetown Animal Shelter will conduct its first low-cost vaccination clinic of the year on Saturday, March 26, 8:30-11 a.m.  The walk-in clinic is for cats and dogs.  Help protect your pet from diseases they can pick up outside!

Pets may also get a FREE microchip with the purchase of any vaccine. No appointments. Cash or check only. The shelter is located at 110 WL Walden Dr., Georgetown, next to the McMaster Athletic Fields.

Dog Vaccines:
Rabies $5
DHPP Combo $10 (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parafluenza, Parvo)
Bordetella $5 (Kennel cough)

Cat Vaccines:
Rabies $5
FVRCP Combo $10 (Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia)

All dogs must be on a leash and cats should be in a carrier.  Payment is by cash or check only. (Debit or credit cards not accepted.)

The shelter has committed to offer several more low-cost clinics this fiscal year. The dates of the next clinics are:

• Saturday, March 26, 2016
• Saturday, May 28, 2016
• Saturday, July 30, 2016
• Saturday, September 24, 2016
• Saturday, November 19, 2016

Find out more at pets.georgetown.org.

The Georgetown Animal Shelter is again holding three free spay/neuter clinic for cats this spring – February 27, April 30, and June 25. The goal of the clinics is to reduce the cat population in Georgetown.  This is the fifth year that the shelter has offered free spay/neuter clinics for cats, and it seems to be making a difference in the number of kittens ending up at the shelter.

Spay and neuter surgeries and a rabies vaccination will be provided at no charge. Other services available at the clinic include a combo test (feline AIDS/leukemia test) for $20, an FVRCP vaccine for $5, microchip for $10, e-collar for $10, pain medication for $5, or cat carrier for $5.

Appointments are required for the free clinics, which are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and are not necessarily for low-income cat owners. Cats or kittens must be at least three months old.

The clinic is offered only for cats whose owners live in the Georgetown City Limits, so bring your driver’s license or other form of ID that shows your current address.

Additionally, the shelter continues to offer low-cost vaccine clinics every few months, which are walk-up clinics for vaccinations only, not spay/neuter surgeries.  Dates for the shot clinics can be found at pets.georgetown.org/programs/low-cost-shots-and-neutering/.

Call (512) 930-3592 to schedule your cat for surgery. All spay or neuter surgeries will be done by a licensed veterinarian.

The spay and neuter clinic will be held at the City of Georgetown Animal Shelter at 110 W.L. Walden Drive near the McMaster Athletic Fields. Contact the shelter at (512) 930-3592 or by email at animalsvc@georgetown.org. The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter website is pets.georgetown.org.

The Georgetown Animal Shelter has reached a major milestone by attaining the highest live outcome rate ever achieved by the shelter. In the fiscal year that ended on September 30, the shelter’s live outcome rate was 96 percent for cats and dogs.

The 4 percent annual euthanasia rate, which means the shelter has again attained no-kill status, is a significant reduction from 2009 when the rate was 34 percent.

In addition, from October 1, 2014 through September 30 this year, the shelter achieved no-kill status in every month with an overall euthanasia rate for cats and dogs of 4 percent. A rate of 10 percent or lower is considered no-kill among animal shelters.

Jackie Carey, animal services manager, says that dogs and cats are euthanized only when they are not adoptable due to serious health problems or behavioral issues that could pose a safety risk. “We don’t euthanize to make an empty cage,” says Carey. The euthanasia rate is down 58 percent this year compared to last year.

Carey cites a number of reasons why they have achieved such a high live outcome rate.

Keeping animals healthy and reducing the spread of disease is a key factor. “We have a really dedicated staff and a super clean facility,” says Carey. “We did not have any major disease outbreaks last year.” Sanitation and disease control procedures are important elements in keeping the animals healthy.

New flooring, paint, and a new cat adoption area also help in the effort to keep the shelter sanitized. “Our shelter smells clean,” says Carey.

The new cat adoption room is a better environment for the cats. “The cats are happier because they are not in cages,” says Carey. “When cats are free to roam in a room and are not confined to a cage, they are happier. They are less stressed and they stay healthier.”

The high adoption rate for cats and dogs is another fundamental component of the high live outcome rate at the shelter. In the 2015 fiscal year there were a record number of adoptions at 1,004, which is an 11 percent increase over the prior year. That included a record 610 cat adoptions, which is a 22 percent increase over the prior year.

A number of efforts contribute to the high adoption rate at the shelter. One is the relationship between the shelter and the PetSmart store at the Wolf Ranch shopping center. The cats in the adoption area at PetSmart tend to get adopted quickly since they have many people seeing them each day. “Jessie Pierce on our staff does a great job of making sure that the adoption enclosures at PetSmart are full,” says Carey.

A second program is a connection with Austin Pets Alive to place feral cats that come to the shelter into adoption as barn cats. “Austin Pets Alive has a larger number of requests for barn cats. When feral cats come to the shelter, we fully vet them so they can go into their barn cat program. It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” says Carey.

A third program has helped boost the adoptions for dogs. This year the shelter instituted a new training regimen for dogs called Dogs Playing for Life. In the program the shelter technicians and volunteers use a trained helper dog when they work with the dogs in the play yard at the shelter. “We put them into play groups and help them learn new play manners,” says Carey. “A dog may be aggressive in a cage, but if you socialize them with other dogs and teach them how to play, then they learn how to play well with other dogs.”

Carey says that recently one dog that came to the shelter was very aggressive toward other dogs. “She was very dog aggressive. But our volunteers and techs worked with her and now she’s fine.”

All of the efforts to boost adoptions of dogs and cats have contributed to the record live outcome rate for 2015.

This was the second year in a row that the shelter has attained the no-kill standard with a live outcome rate of 90 percent or higher.

The Georgetown Animal Shelter is located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive and is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. The shelter is closed on Wednesday. Contact the shelter at (512) 930-3592 or online at pets.georgetown.org.

“Squirrel,” adopted in January, invites you to the party

Break open the cat nip and hand out some dog treats. The Georgetown Animal Shelter is celebrating 10 years in its current home on October 17 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Volunteers and staff will offer guided tours and shelter dogs will show off their agility course moves. There will be an Ask the Vet station, story time in the kitten room, refreshments, and a drawing for a $50 PetSmart gift card.

The city shelter moved about 50 yards from its previous location in 2005, thanks to renovations that allowed the shelter to take over a former water utility building.  Renovations since then have added dog runs, dog play yards, a surgery room, and community cat rooms, among other improvements.

Jackie Carey, animal services manager since 2010, said “We are eager to show off how ‘fancy’ our shelter is looking these days with the installation of new kennel floors in 2013 and new floors and paint in our administration building in 2014.  We hear so often how great, friendly, and odor-free our shelter is—a testament to our dedicated staff of employees and volunteers!”

Accomplishments include:

• Saving 95 percent of all animals that passed through the shelter since October 1, 2014, by adopting them out, returning them to owners, or transferring them to rescue groups.
• Maintaining the “no-kill” status (defined as euthanizing fewer than 10 percent of adoptable animals).
• Silver Medal, Best Place to Volunteer in 2014 and 2012
• Invited consultation by the Humane Society of the United States and implemented recommendations.

Come celebrate our 10th anniversary in our newly renovated building and see what donations and tax dollars can accomplish in a well-managed shelter!

The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter is located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive near the McMaster Athletic Fields. Contact the shelter at (512) 930-3592 or by email at animalsvc@georgetown.org or online at pets.georgetown.org.

The 16th annual Georgetown Animal Shelter Garage Sale is Friday and Saturday, September 18 and 19. The sale is at the former public library at 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street.  Hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day.

The annual sale is a benefit organized by the Friends of the Georgetown Animal Shelter. All proceeds benefit animals at the Georgetown Animal Shelter.

Note that the sale will be held at the former library at 808 MLK Street, not at the Community Center as in past sales.

At the sale this weekend look for new or gently-used furniture, decorator items, bicycles, antiques, and collector items.

The last chance to donate items for the sale is on Wednesday, September 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring donations to the front door of the former Georgetown public library building at 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street. Donations of new or gently-used furniture, decorative items, bicycles, antiques, and collectibles are encouraged. Clothing, televisions, and computers are not accepted.

Contact the Animal Shelter by phone at (512) 930-3592 or by email at animalsvc@georgetown.org.

The Georgetown Animal Shelter website is pets.georgetown.org.

The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter is located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive near the McMaster Athletic Complex.