The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter (WCRAS) is desperately seeking adopters and fosters for the almost 200 dogs in the shelter, as well as help with kitten fosters.

With 191 dogs in the shelter, the situation is far beyond the critical stage and is now in the dangerous category, having gone off the charts. With this many dogs in the shelter, on top of kitten season, the shelter staff is stretched to its limits in the midst of the unsustainable critical capacity crisis. The shelter is asking for immediate help from the community and has issued its first Preventing Euthanasia List of the year.

The Preventing Euthanasia List was developed to showcase the dogs at the shelter who would fit into virtually any home environment, making them highly adoptable. By highlighting these dogs, the shelter hopes to find loving new homes for them more quickly, which makes space and lightens the burden on the staff, allowing them to focus on those with higher care needs.

“We are so grateful for those who have helped us in recent weeks through adopting and fostering, but the situation remains dire. Our strongest lifesaving force is our community members. It is only with your help that we can save lives and prevent euthanasia in our shelter. When you foster or adopt, you save two lives. The life in your home and the life needing to enter our shelter for their safety,” said the shelter’s Animal Services Director Misty Valenta.

Here are 5 things you can do to save a life:

1. Adopt! Adoptions of all dogs over 25 pounds and all adult cats are just $2 this week. Interested adopters can preview adoptable pets at pets.wilco.org. Scheduling an appointment by emailing adoption@wilco.org will help to reduce your wait time for finding your new best friend.
2. Foster! If you’re not ready to commit to adoption at this time, then fostering is a great option. Fosters are needed to help make space for dogs over 25 pounds, as well as kittens, and those who can help through either fostering or adopting a dog are encouraged to come to the shelter. Kitten fosters can reach out via email to eduran@wilco.org. Kitten fostering is a fun and rewarding experience the whole family can enjoy.
3. Share! Sharing the pleas for help on social media to help spread the word about the crisis is another great way to help the shelter.
4. Volunteer! Volunteers can help in so many ways, which makes taking care of all of the animals possible. As the saying goes, many hands make lighter work.
5. Donate! Donations can also help to fund programs that allow the shelter to better manage space crises. Bonus: The shelter has extended its Name A Kit10 fundraiser through June 5. Aimed to raise money for the kitten foster program, for a $10 donation, you can nominate a kitten name to be used at some point this year. To donate to the shelter, go to pets.wilco.org. To donate to the Name A Kit10 fundraiser, go to https://NameAKit10.givesmart.com.

The community’s assistance is needed to continue the WCRAS’s life-saving mission. Please help.