01/26/2025
Ways you can help overcrowding at our shelter and be in compliance with city ordinances as pet owners:
1) Spay/Neuter your pets!
Rusk County Sheriff’s Department offers vouchers for Rusk County residents. Contact their office for more information at 903-657-3581. No shelter anywhere has the room for every unwanted litter.
Animal Protection League comes weekly and offers low cost spaying/neutering!
2) Keep dogs contained!
Make sure if you have outside dogs that whatever fencing you have them contained in, actually will contain them. If your dog gets loose, contact the shelter immediately at 903-657-7651 so we can be on the lookout or let you know if we’ve picked up your pet. If you are needing assistance in repairing your fence, contact the center at the number above and we will try and help find resources.
3) Microchip!
We offer microchipping for $10! This internal ID method (and keeping your contact information current that is connected to it) will help us, or anyone that finds your pet, get the animal back home as soon as possible. Your pet might be strictly indoor, but if a natural disaster/car wreck were to occur, they could escape and a microchip is the most efficient way to get them back home safely. It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. It is the regret of many owners searching for their lost pets that they didn’t have this done!
4) Keep all pets (YES INDOOR/OUTDOOR) current on the their Rabies vaccine!
This is a state law. There is currently no exception to this law due to any reason. Yes, Rabies is still around in our area. You must be able to provide a Rabies certificate from a vet upon request at all times. This is not a vaccine you can buy from a feed store. Contact the office for Rabies vaccine requirements for the city at 903-657-7651. Animal Protection League comes weekly and offers discounted vaccines!
5) Pet care
If you own an animal, you are it’s caregiver. If you have taken an animal in, you are now it’s caregiver. They rely on you for feed, shelter, and care. If you are struggling to care for your pet in anyway, please reach out for a list of resources that might be able to help. We also offer donated food when available to those in need, along with donated dog houses, and other items. We take animal neglect/cruelty seriously, but when we have to seize them they come to an already full shelter. Reach out before it gets to that point if you are in need of assistance. Contact office for more information at 903-657-7651.
6) Strays
If you find a stray, always check for a microchip first. Our office or vet’s offices can do this free of charge. Check surrounding homes to see if it belongs nearby. Remember, Rusk County doesn’t have a leash law and they are free to roam outside city limits. Think twice before picking up a stray outside the city limits, as it could very well belong to someone. We run into this more times than not. Strays found can also be entered in to Petco Love Lost website. It is a great tool to reunite pets with their owners and uses facial recognition software. for pets! Contact our office if you find or see a stray INSIDE city limits at 903-657-7651.
We are doing the best we can with the space we have available as a small city shelter, but we need help from our community! Our staff work nonstop to get these animals in and out as quickly as possible, but overpopulation has made this more of a challenge than before. THANK YOU to everyone that adopts, rescues, volunteers, donates, and are responsible pet owners!🐾❤️
