WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter (WCRAS) needs the community's help after rescuing dozens of dogs from a single location.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) said that, on Thursday, its Animal Control Unit seized the 41 dogs from a private residence in Liberty Hill that was involved with a possible animal cruelty situation. The dogs were safely impounded, with the assistance of their owner, and transported to the WCRAS.
April Peiffer with the animal shelter said most of the dogs are in good condition, but they haven't fully assessed all of them yet.
"We do see some illness. We do see some injuries. So some are relatively healthy, some are a little underweight, and some do have some medical concerns," Peiffer said.
The shelter needs immediate assistance from the community.
"We were already basically at maximum capacity. So when we received all these animals, we had no room for them. We had no place to put them," Peiffer said.
The animals had to be placed in crates inside the shelter's intake lobby.
"That is not the ideal scenario in any way," Peiffer said. "And so while we wait to make space in our kennels, they wait in those crates."
WCRAS said the biggest need is kennel space. Staff said getting a medium or large adult dog adopted would make room for another dog to take that animal's space in a kennel. WCRAS said fostering over spring break would serve the same purpose.
Anyone who is able to adopt or foster can preview the available dogs at wilcopets.org. Adopters are then encouraged to schedule an appointment by emailing adoption@wilco.org. First-time fosters can make their visit to WCRAS quicker by filling out the foster application form, then coming to the shelter to pick out a dog. WCRAS staff will assist in selecting dogs that will suit the foster family's needs.
WCRAS said the community can also help by donating to its medical fund, known as Jane's Fund, by clicking the yellow "donate" button on wilcopets.org, then selecting the medical fund. The shelter is also taking donations of paper lunch bags, blankets and towels and Science Diet dog kibble. Donations may be dropped off at the shelter's services center, located at 1855 Southeast Inner Loop.
The WCSO said the seizure of the dogs was a multi-agency response and the animals were safely impounded without incident. The case is still under investigation.
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