City councils approve budgets, tax rates for fiscal year 2009-10

Kathryn Eakens
Nonprofit Profile Humane Society of Williamson County
Moose, a 5-year-old Beagle mix, has been in the shelter since June.
By Kathryn Eakens
Founded in 1979, the Humane Society
of Williamson County began with a foster
home program and a small group of
volunteers with the vision of a community
where every pet has a lifetime home.
Thirty years later, HSWC is still
working to improve the lives of pets and
people in Williamson County—now with
more than 300 volunteers, eight full-time
and six part-time employees, and a facility
situated on 22 acres in Leander.
In celebration of the organization’s
anniversary, HSWC is planning a free,
family-friendly party and adoption
reunion Oct. 25 that will include music,
food and activities for both humans and
canines.
“We would love for all our adopters to
come back and bring their pets,” HWSC
Director Juliana DeRosa said, “and,
of course, anyone who’s interested in
adopting.”
A nonprofit organization, HSWC
receives no government funding and is
supported entirely by donations, grants
and fees for services.
“We performed 158 adoptions in August,
which is amazing considering how
small our staff is,” DeRosa said. “The
volunteers really make this possible.”
DeRosa has served as HSWC director
since December 2008, but she began her
association with the organization two
years prior as a volunteer.
“This is my true passion. When the
position of director opened, I felt I could
finally have that marriage between what I
love to do and making a living,” DeRosa
said. “I also think it was important that
I knew the organization from a different
perspective. I was a volunteer during the
‘darker days’ when we were charged with
euthanizing animals if we could not find
homes for them. So that really cemented
my passion to be part of a no-kill organization.”
A no-kill shelter since early 2007—
when the Williamson County Regional
Animal Shelter took over the county’s
Kathryn Eakens
animal control contract—HSWC works to
reduce the burden on the area’s municipal
shelters by transferring animals into its
adoption program.
“We work closely with the Williamson
County Regional Animal Shelter, which
brings in phenomenal numbers of strays,
as well as owner surrenders,” DeRosa
said. “We pull animals from the regional
shelter as well as Town Lake and Pflugerville
and Georgetown—all the surrounding
areas. We try to get out and help as
many animals as we can, but our main
focus is on the Williamson County area.”
In addition to conducting adoptions
and offering temporary shelter
for homeless dogs and cats, HSWC also
runs low-cost vaccinations and spay and
neuter clinics for the public and gives
educational tours and presentations to
area schools and community groups.
“No one has to suffer through a single
unwanted litter,” DeRosa said. “No
animal needs to be in a shelter—mine or
anyone else’s.”
Tiger, a 3-year-old Tabby, has been in the shelter since February.
30th Anniversary Celebration
Oct. 25 • Noon-5 p.m.
183A
Ridgmar Rd.
Crystal Falls Pkwy.
Ronald Reagan Blvd.
Humane Society of
Williamson County
10930 E. Crystal Falls Parkway, Leander
260-3602
www.hswc.net
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