By Ashley Sava

PAWS Shelter of Central Texas, a nonprofit and no kill organization, is relocating its Kyle headquarters to Dripping Springs. Construction on this $1.4 million building is moving forward. The new facility will be located south of the North Hays County Fire Station on Hwy. 165 on 39 acres of land that was donated to the organization a decade ago.

“The very generous donor who asks to remain anonymous, provided food and medical care for many feral cats and some stray dogs during the years she lived there,” Ann Oppenland, a member of the PAWS Building Committee, said. “It was her desire that the property be used in perpetuity for animal welfare and she sought out an existing animal welfare organization whose mission matched her dreams for the property.  

According to Oppenland, PAWS agreed to care for the animals on these premises for the rest of their lives. PAWS installed a caretaker and immediately began using it as a cat and dog sanctuary.

In March of 2014 PAWS received a TxDOT driveway permit to enter the property from Hwy. 165. Construction of the driveway began later in the year.  

“The board is currently in the process of approving the final site plan and footprint for the facility,” Oppenland said.

Oppenland said the organization’s leaders have plans for an animal welfare campus with gardens, walking trails, a community dog park and training facilities.

“Dogs don’t always arrive at the shelter with knowledge of how their owners expect them to behave,” Oppenland said. “Training makes all the difference and dogs are eager to learn.  Some new owners need training, too. PAWS envisions a training center for dogs and their people so that adoptions are successful.”

The shelter will have 7,000 square feet of air conditioned space and 2,300 square feet of covered area. By comparison, PAWS existing 25-year-old shelter in Kyle is 1,326 square feet of air conditioned space and 44 dog kennels. It services about 100 animals per day.

“[The Kyle shelter] sits on one acre of land, approximately 30 percent of which is subject to a wet weather creek that floods the west side of the lot in rain storms,” Oppenland said. “The building, kennels, driveway and parking lot cover the usable portion of the acre leaving a very, very small outdoor exercise area for the dogs and no access to the outdoors for the cats. We are bursting at the seams.”

With the growth of Central Texas and the outlying bedroom communities to Austin such as Lakeway, Wimberley, Dripping Springs , Johnson City and Blanco, Oppenland said the “need for a new facility to manage the capacity of animals is dire.” 

“The communities surrounding the shelter are becoming more urban,” she said. “Even now there is a need for a safe place for dogs to go with their owners and run off-leash.  PAWS community dog park will be a way for PAWS to give back to the community and continue to contribute to the welfare of the dogs that have passed through its facility.” 

According to Oppenland, this new shelter could potentially serve thousands of animals a year, so long as the funding comes through. This means an increase of donations and adoption fees will need to sustain the business.

At this point nearly $1 million has been raised for the new facility. The board of directors will need to raise $450,000 to finish the build. Fundraising efforts are especially important because the land was gifted to PAWS. Raising the critical funds is what is crucial to making sure the project is not delayed now that it  has begun.

“In addition to the construction of the building itself, the new shelter will have to be outfitted with everything from dog and cat beds, washers and dryers, heating and air-conditioning systems to veterinary medical equipment,” she said.  “People can make a donation for the construction of the new shelter, or they can select a specific portion of the project that they would like to support.”