SAN MARCOS — The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter will be retiring as the county’s intake facility at the end of 2026, with the hope that the county’s new pet resource center will take over the responsibility.
At it's Aug. 20 meeting, San Marcos City Council approved an interlocal agreement to provide Hays County with animal services, as well as providing an end date to the contract.
According to agenda documents, the city of San Marcos has operated the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter for 20 years and served as the intake facility for Hays County since 2008.
The agreement states that “The San Marcos Animal Services Division currently operates and maintains a regional animal shelter, but intends to transfer regional responsibilities to Hays County at the end of this agreement term and operate a local animal shelter for San Marcos only.”
This intended transfer comes after the county announced its plans for the Hays County Pet Resource Center in 2023, when Austin Pets Alive partnered with the county. The website states that it aims to provide “a safety net to help keep families together.”
With temporary animal housing, low-cost medical care for pets, financial assistance programs, behavioral support programs, foster support network and training and education, the center hopes to offer more resources than a traditional shelter.
City of San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson motioned to approve the item and council member Matthew Mendoza seconded. The agreement passed 5-0, with council member Jude Prather abstaining from the vote, due to his employment with the county, and council member Shane Scott not in attendance for the vote.
In a previous article by the Hays Free Press in May 2024, SMRAS Engagement Coordinator Minnie Buckhaults noted that overcrowding was an obstacle that the shelter was facing, with, at the time, 160 dogs in the facility with only 90 kennels.
City of San Marcos Communications & IGR Manager Nadine Cesak stated that this is still the case.
“As Hays County continues to experience rapid population growth, the need to make changes to the regional animal sheltering model has become more evident. Operating a regional shelter is no longer in the best interest of the taxpayers of San Marcos. The agreements were implemented at a time when the county population was much smaller and managing the animal population was easier,” said Cesak.
The rapidly increasing intake of animals, sometimes at more than 100 a week — 50% of which come from outside of San Marcos city limits — forced the shelter to leave dogs in pop-up crates for 23 hours a day, as well as starting to post animals on a euthanasia list almost weekly.
Since May, more than 20 dogs have been listed on the facility’s Facebook page with a deadline for euthanasia, though, due to the community’s work, only one has been put to sleep — Rajah. To provide transparency, the shelter has also added an “At-Risk List,” available at www. sanmarcostx.gov/4423/ At-Risk-List, to its website, where community members can view the dogs that are at-risk for euthanasia prior to them receiving a strict deadline. “The council committee decided that a two-year expiration date would give the county and other jurisdictions time to develop alternative options to meet their constituents’ needs,” Cesak said.
According to city of Kyle Director of Communications Rachel Sonnier, the city was notified of San Marcos’ plan to step down as the county’s intake shelter and, in response, staff is researching options available for a city facility. After outlining a plan, it will be presented in front of council at the Sept. 17 meeting, Sonnier confirmed.
“We are thankful for the invaluable partnership that we've had with the city of San Marcos for the animal shelter intake over the years,” said Sonnier.
Similarly, city of Buda Public Information Officer Michelle Henley noted that the city was aware of the decision months ago and is “exploring other shelter options, to include partnerships with other county and municipal governments,” but that she does not expect any negative effects to the community.
In regards to the impending end of partnership, Wimberley city secretary Tammy Heller stated that “Mayor [Jim Chiles] and mayor pro-tem [Rebecca Minnick] of Wimberley have not had enough experience with this to comment at this time.”
According to Dripping Springs deputy city administrator Ginger Faught, Hays County provides animal services to the city through an interlocal agreement.
Because the city has not been notified of any changes to these services, she does 'not see this affecting [Dripping Springs] residents at this time.'
Hays County did not provide a comment prior to publication.
For more information on the Hays County Pet Resource Center, visit www.hayscountytx.gov/ pet-resource.
