JACINTO CITY, Texas – In Jacinto City, there isn’t an animal shelter. Just an open-air holding facility with five city-owned kennels.
Before Jacinto City Dog Pound Rescue was born, animal control would have to euthanize healthy animals for space.
When the rescue’s founder, Brenda Kocian, realized that, she got to work, enlisting friends and family to help find a better solution. Judy Clark, now president of the nonprofit, was one of the first to help out.
“I had no idea the problem existed,” she said. “Then I met Brenda, and she brought me down here and I saw all these great little dogs that could be euthanized and I was like, wow, yes I’ll help you.”
That was ten years ago. Today, Jacinto City Dog Pound Rescue works with the city to save, on average, 375 dogs a year, and not one dog has been euthanized for space since.
Once a stray comes in and their three-day stray hold expires, the dog is immediately enrolled in the rescue.
They’re completely vetted: immunized, microchipped, spayed or neutered, and treated for heartworm disease if they test positive. From there, they’re put on transport with out-of-state rescue partners who have adoptive families waiting.
“All of these dogs would be euthanized if we weren’t here,” says volunteer Rebecca Gammage. “Texas is full of unwanted dogs. But when you send them up north to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Wisconsin, they get so excited when they see our pound hounds!”
It’s an expensive labor of love. The group spends thousands of dollars every month on boarding and medical needs, relying entirely on private donations.
They have a wish list that includes donations and dog walkers but say finding fosters is especially hard.
“We’ve been here ten years and we only have three fosters. We beg people, if you’ll just foster this dog for two weeks we can get him vetted and on transport,” Gammage said.
They’re grateful the city works with them to save lives, and they’re hoping more volunteers will step up to help save even more.
If you’d like to help, find them on Facebook at Jacinto City Dog Pound Rescue or email Rebecca Gammage.