Marble Falls Animal Control seeks volunteers for weekend duty

The first of several volunteer calls at the Marble Falls Animal Control facility on Feb. 16. Courtesy photo
A new volunteer program designed to lend a helping hand to Marble Falls Animal Control debuts in March. Volunteers will help feed, water, and socialize animals at the facility on Saturday and Sunday mornings. They will also clean kennels and assist Animal Control officials during adoption events.
“We’re really looking forward to having a public-private partnership that will allow us to invest in a facility that isn’t as limited as far as the services we offer as an animal control facility,” Marble Falls Police Chief Glenn Hanson told DailyTrib.com.
Hanson believes the added assistance is the first step toward the department’s greater goal of expanding its services for stray and homeless animals.
“We’re hoping in the future that we can have a regional center where several cities in the area can have a place that’s staffed while our Animal Control officers are simply doing pickup jobs and removing carcasses,” he said. “Hopefully, the volunteers can act as a staff and take care of the animals and do so much more for them than we can as an animal control facility.”
Brenda Morris and Mary Jo Callaway co-founded the group in response to the flood of strays that the city department receives.
“As the city continues to grow, so does the stray and homeless animal population,” Morris said.
Marble Falls Animal Control, 100 Avenue L, currently has a capacity of about 10 animals, Hanson said.
“We’re not a shelter,” he said. “A shelter provides a lot more services and does a lot more for the animals. The facility we have is kind of like a jail: There’s a stray, we pick it up. We try to find who it belongs to as quickly as possible, get it returned, adopted out, or move it to a rescue.”
Animal Control Officer Nate Harrell is the lone city employee responsible for the animals at the facility. His duties are all-encompassing.
“There aren’t enough hours in the day for one person to take care of the streets and be at the facility a few times a day to walk, potty, feed, water, and socialize with the animals,” Morris said.
The first of several volunteer calls for the new program was held on Feb. 16. Organizers hope to eventually have volunteers working daily at the facility.
“We are very lucky to have a community showing so much enthusiasm in helping with the program,” Morris said.
Interested volunteers may text Morris at 512-755-3906 or Callaway at 512-755-3840 or pick up a volunteer application at the Marble Falls Police Department, 606 Avenue N. All applicants must pass a background check. Those under 18 must have a parent/guardian sign off.