(Seguin) – Guadalupe County’s everyday efforts to save the lives of animals are not going unnoticed. The Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division is being recognized by a national nonprofit for its leadership in utilizing all other lifesaving tactics when possible.
Proud of his animal control officers and a team of committed volunteers is Guadalupe County Sheriff Arnold Zwicke. On Tuesday, Zwicke publicly shared a letter received by the Best Friends Animal Society, which tracks data on animal shelters across the nation, for its success in keeping as many animals alive as possible.
Speaking before the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court, Zwicke stated that while they’ve never considered themselves a no-kill shelter, they are honored for the acknowledgment by Julie Castle, the chief executive director for the Best Friends Animal Society.
Sharing her letter to Guadalupe County, Zwicke reads, “On behalf of Best Friends Animal Society, I want to congratulate Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division on achieving a 90 percent save rate for the 2023 calendar year. You’ve joined an elite group of organizations across the country who are leading the way towards making us a no-kill nation. This accomplishment represents so much more than just a statistic. It represents a culture of caring and compassion. It represents the tireless efforts of you and your dedicated staff, passionate volunteers and steadfast supporters. It represents innovative, thoughtful programming. It represents extraordinary leadership both within the organization and within our broader animal welfare movement.”
Zwicke continued with the letter, sharing how percentages are more than just numbers.
“While 90 percent is by definition just a number, organizations that achieve and maintain no kill are made up of people who never forget that each tiny fraction of a percentage point represents a life saved. These numbers represent cherished family members who are only alive because of your dedication and hard work. Bottom line, every day you and your team create more and more opportunities for animals and people alike to experience love. About 7 million homes in America plan to add a pet to the family in the coming year.
Because of the work of organizations like yours, if just six percent more of those families chose to adopt instead of purchase, we would end the killing of cats and dogs in our nation’s shelters. That’s how close we are to no kill. That is why I am so grateful for your life changing work.”
Doug Pyatt, animal control supervisor, also expressed appreciation to those who continue to fight for the lives of local animals.
Pyatt says it takes a whole team, the support of county employees as well as the community volunteers from the Friends of Dogs Rescue nonprofit organization.
“This is one of those situations where perception is often very different than the reality. Perception is all animal shelters are bad and all we do is euthanize animals as often as we can. The reality of it is that is not what happens in Guadalupe County. I went back and looked this morning – just did a courtesy look but this is not a new thing for us. We are getting an award for it, getting recognized for it. That’s great but in the last five years, we actually only had five months where we didn’t meet this standard. So, this has been going on for some time. I know my name is on this letter and it says Guadalupe County on this plaque but all of that is entirely because of these women and their hard work. This is all on them. We just try to stay out of the way and let them do their thing and help them in any way that we can but achieving this was all because of them and it was not because of us, and I really appreciate it,” said Pyatt.
Guadalupe County officials say they are lucky to have a shared mission with Friends of Dogs Rescue, a nonprofit organization founded in 2022. The 501(c)(3) has been helping Guadalupe County Animal Control (GCAC) for over 8 years by volunteering twice a week to walk and play with the dogs, taking pictures, and creating videos for networking and adoption purposes. The nonprofit raises funds to provide basic vaccines, health tests and organizes vet trips when necessary.
Susan Woodall, the volunteer organizer for Friends of Dogs, says they work hard to promote the dogs from Guadalupe County Animal Control on their website and Facebook page so that these animals find their forever homes.”
The rescue organization is credited for taking some of the dogs from the local shelter and placing them in foster homes. After the dogs are fully vetted, they are then adopted across the state including the Pacific Northwest, and the Northeastern United States.
Dogs at the Guadalupe County Animal Control facility are placed on a 5-day hold and can be adopted by prepaying for spaying/neutering and receiving a rabies vaccine at any vet. Once payment is made, adopters must show the receipt to the animal control officers.
Contact Friends of Dogs Rescue on its website or Facebook to learn more about dog adoption and donating. The link is available at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfDogsAtGuadalupeCountyAnimalControl/