Before you read this, go to the refrigerator or
an ice chest and grab your favorite beverage.
It’s time to toast our accomplishments in
Rockwall County, especially if you’re a “pet
person” like me. Thanks to the Rockwall City
Council, our animal shelter has been saving
the lives of over 94% of its homeless pets
for five years.
The council voted in August 2011 –
County Judge David Sweet was mayor
at the time – to set a minimum lifesaving
goal of 90% at the shelter. It’s obviously
been a huge success.
And in Royse City, thanks to City Manager
Carl Alsabrook and Police Chief Jeff
Stapleton, its animal shelter has been
equally adept at finding new families for its
homeless pets since the summer of 2012.
It’s an impressive accomplishment, but it
didn’t happen overnight. Just 10 years ago,
the Rockwall shelter was little more than
a glorified barn. The dilapidated building
was covered in rust, and it was swelteringly
hot during the summer and often frigid during
the winter.
The shelter was so ramshackle that few
people went there to adopt a pet. As a result,
only a small percentage of dogs and cats
got out of that building alive.
That changed when voters in the 2005 bond
election approved a transfer of leftover
funds totaling $1.3 million to build a new
animal shelter. (Voters also approved road
improvements, the construction of John King
Boulevard, the renovation of four parks
and the building of two new fire stations.
A proposition to build a $2.7 million animal
shelter failed during that election.)
Here’s where the nostalgia kicks in.
At about this same time, I began writing a
pet column for Dawn Redig, the publisher of
this fine publication, when she was an editor
at the Dallas Morning News. We both thought
a regular column would help to promote
Rockwall’s homeless pets, helping them
find new families.
The new animal shelter opened in June 2008.
Coupled with the new media promotions we
were doing at the time, more animals found
homes than ever before. A little more than
half of all the pets entering the shelter found
new homes during 2009, the first full year of
the new facility. But as the newness began to
wear off and people stopped coming to the
shelter, more animals began to die.
Enter the proverbial unsung hero. Jeffrey
Widmer, currently a building official with the
City of Rockwall, saw the need for innovation
at the struggling shelter. He patiently listened
to every wild idea we threw at him, and
eventually implemented an array of programs
that were considered cutting-edge at the time.
From regular promotions to adoption events
held away from the shelter, these programs
later became mainstream nationally.
More importantly, it worked. The Rockwall
shelter went from finding homes for less than
50% of its homeless pets in June 2010 to
placing over 86% of its pets just 10 months
later. After the city council vote in August
2011, the shelter’s success rate shot up to
97% and they never looked back.
Five years later, Rockwall still finds homes
for around 96% of its shelter pets, and it
continues to be an inspiration for other
shelters across the country. So hoist that
beverage high as we propose an anniversary
toast to the Rockwall City Council and its
animal shelter. Here’s to five years of success,
and here’s to thousands of happy pets and
happy families.
If you’ll permit a personal note, this is my
last column for Blue Ribbon News. Pam and I
are moving to Portland, Oregon this summer,
another proud No Kill community that saves
the lives of over 94% of the shelter pets in
the entire metro area (but Rockwall did it
first!). I’m forever grateful to Dawn Redig for
inviting me to share my love of pets in these
pages and online. Thanks for reading!
Story and photos by Blue
Ribbon News guest columnist
Michael Kitkoski, co-founder
of Rockwall Pets and
No Kill Solutions.
See the annual statistics for the Rockwall
animal shelter at http://nokillsolutions.org/
Rockwall_Statistics_Annual.pdf.
Read about the Rockwall City Council’s
August 2011 vote at http://blueribbonnews.
com/2011/08/rockwall-city-council-mandates-
no-kill-status.
Read more about the 2005 Rockwall bond
election on the RockwallYES! blog (yes, it
still exists) at http://rockwallyes.blogspot.com.
GOOD PETS
16
Summer Edition 2016
BlueRibbonNews.com
Manny Salazar surveys the play yard under
construction at the new Rockwall animal
shelter in March 2008.
Homeless pets at the old Rockwall animal
shelter shared space with rust and debris.
The new Rockwall animal shelter attracted quite a
crowd during its grand opening on June 28, 2008.
Erin Atkins
sponsored by:
(972)771-4110
Pet of the Week
Rockwall
celebrates
YEARS OF
HAPPY PETS
FIVE
5