By Zoe Smith
SAN MARCOS, Texas – San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter is set to restrict the amount of animals taken in for 2026, rescuing animals only from the City of San Marcos.
Estimated for 2026, Hays County will complete construction on an Pet Resources Center, allowing them to take in strays from all of Hays County while the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter tightens its intake boundaries benefiting the shelter animals, staff, and stray population in the local area.
The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter has been taking in animals from all of Hays County, including Buda and Kyle, since 2008.
According to the official Hays County Pet Resources Center Proposal, this change should reduce the number of animals in care at the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter by approximately 50%.
Animal Services Manager Christie Banduch said, “…our ability to provide that high-level care is stretched thin, and we have to consider both what is humane for the animals as well as the workload that we are placing on the staff.”
According to a 2023 report by Shelter Animals Count, of the 6,550,000 animals that entered shelters and rescues nationwide, 48% of those brought in were strays, 25% were owner surrenders, 18% were transfers, and 9% accounted for other reasons.
During fiscal year 2023, SMRAS received a total live intake of 3,267 animals, meaning these animals were brought into the shelter alive.
The total live outtake for 2023 was 2,977. This leaves 290 animals left for the shelter to accommodate.
The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter employs different methods to manage the number of animals in its shelter.
The Foster Program is a large contributor to relieving stress on the shelter.
“I’ve really enjoyed being able to come home to a new dog and to see it come out of its shell a little bit more especially if they’re in a kennel for so long they kind of get closed off and kind of scarred from the world,” San Marcos foster parent, Jon Zmikly, said.
According to Zmikly, the shelter sends out emails roughly every week asking current and past fosters to take in animals in order to further alleviate overcapacity numbers.
Another program utilized by the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter is the Dog’s Day Out Program in which volunteers can temporarily care for a dog. This program covers only a few hours and allows staff to learn more about the dog’s personality in a less stressful environment.
Of course, the most effective way for shelters across the nation to decrease shelter numbers is by encouraging adoptions.
The San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter promotes the adoption of their animals by decreasing fees around special occasions such as holidays and promoting the shelter on social media sites in which they provide animal biographies, shelter statistics, and more.
According to the official SMRAS Instagram account, the shelter is at 147% capacity as of December 2024.
With the gradual increase in local population, it can become increasingly difficult for shelters to keep a growing shelter population at bay even with the use of these methods.
One potential concern for SMRAS is placement. As San Marcos, Texas is home to Texas State University, students make up a decent portion of adoptees; however, pet ownership is not always seen as practical within a college lifestyle.
Texas State student and SMRAS adoptee, Stacy Davis, expressed her concerns about students being financially and physically able to provide for pets.
“I think that just us being in college, not having much money or much time to take care of an animal really contributes [to adoption numbers],” said Davis.
According to the Hays County Animal Resources Center Survey Report, 53% of participants claimed to have seen at least 5 free roaming animals within a few blocks of their residence within the past 3 years.
Seeing as some of these numbers may be due to owners allowing their pets to roam their neighborhood or complex, caretakers can make a difference by chipping their pets.
Pets may end up in shelters without a way of identifying that they already have a home.
The Hays County Pet Resources Center Proposal states that 3% of cats at San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter are successfully returned to their owner, while the return-to-owner rate for dogs is 34%.
There are many factors that contribute to the intake and outtake of animals in shelters.
Along with reducing the number of animals at the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter, the new constructed space will provide an additional shelter as included in the Hays County Pet Resources Center Proposal.
The citizens of Hays County as well as the animals could benefit from the anticipated change for 2026.
