HELP RE-BUILD A SOUTH TEXAS OUTDOOR ANIMAL SHELTER

This animal shelter is located in a very small and rural poor town in San Diego, South Texas.  The Animal Shelter gets little to no funding for anything.  There are 10-12 outdoor kennels at the shelter exposed to the harsh weather conditions and fleas/ticks year round.

There is only one animal control officer to run the shelter, no other shelter employees.  These dogs get no medical care at the shelter and are rarely let out of kennels as there are no dog runs or extra employees to help.  They will sit in their kennels for weeks at a time.  The shelter is in horrible conditions...broken rusted kennels, holes in fencing surrounding the shelter so dogs can not run freely on the property, dirty outdoor concrete floors in kennels, no walls to protect from outdoor elements, no air conditioning or heat, etc.  

All food, basic meds, shelter supplies, cleaning supplies, etc. are all provided by our fundraising done through social media by the volunteers.  We have four out of state volunteers that created an IG and fb account to help network and fundraise for the shelter.  All funds raised goes 100% to paying for transportation to get dogs to rescues (usually out of state), emergency vetting, and all shelter supplies.  The vet is one town away (about a 30 min drive) and the animal control officer is not allowed by the city to take dogs to the vet.  Therefore we rely very much on local volunteers (only about 3-5 of them) to help when they can at the shelter and driving dogs to vet.  Dogs are left alone every night and on weekends when the shelter is closed (shelter hours are M-F 9am-5pm).  No one is allowed at shelter when closed. 

This shelter was euthanizing dogs every 3 to 7 days before the volunteers stepped in to help.  We are thankful they let us help...many South Texas shelters wont allow volunteers to help them at all.  So sadly dogs are euthanized constantly in that area.  South Texas is filled with strays, no one spays or neuters their dogs there so it is over run by neglected stray dogs and puppies.  Many people there can’t afford taking their dogs to the vet, they’d rather neglect their animals and surrender them to the shelter then pay for necessary vetting.  To say the least, South Texas is a different bread when it comes to animal welfare.  

The culture has to change there!!  In the meantime we strive everyday to save as many dogs that come into the shelter so we can become a “no-kill” animal shelter.  

Things we need to re-build/fix the shelter:

1.  New fencing around the shelter so dogs can run free, we also need to build dog runs.

2.  Walls built around the kennels so dogs aren’t exposed to the harsh weather conditions and fleas/ticks year round.

3.  Air conditioning/heating units installed so the dogs can be comfortable year round.

4.  Fix kennels that are broken and rusted so dogs have clean and sterile kennels to stay in.

5.  Appoxy the concrete floors in the kennels so kennels can be sterile and easier to keep clean.  

*THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS.  WE VOLUNTEERS APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT MORE THAN YOU KNOW.