MONTHLY
Bone Vivant
WILLIAMSON COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER Opening New Doors and Bringing New Light to Adoptable Animals BY ANNA ROBERTSON HAM PHOTOGRAPHY BY PENNY ADAMS
The Williamson County Animal Center (WCAC) has called its location on Claude Yates Drive, in Franklin, home for many years. As the county has grown in population, the amount of animals in need of adoption has grown as well, thus bringing the need for a larger center to the forefront of needs that WCAC has…and a new Center will be opening its doors soon to serve the county. Many have been involved with the planning and execution of the new WCAC location. “Friends of WCAC was involved from the very beginning and provided a large amount of funding for specific areas of the building that will serve the public,” says WCAC Director Ondrea Johnson. Private donors have funded several areas that will enhance the offerings of the Center, including dog exercise yards, public education area, indoor dog training facility, and a community spay neuter clinic.” The beautiful new building, which will offer 35,000 square feet (a huge jump from the current 13,000 square foot facility), was designed by 906 Studio Architects in consult with Shelter Planners of America. Ondrea has had input in every square inch of the building along with the help of Shelter Planners of America, who had data and research behind every single suggestion. “I followed their lead. The process to design this building was very detailed and specialized,” Ondrea says.
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“We have achieved and maintained a very high save rate for the past several years. But we can’t rest there. We know that the indicator of a healthy pet community is the census of its shelter.”
community has the opportunity to model best practices for partnering with the community to keep pets in homes, help control pet populations, educate the public on pet-related issues and offer adoption services for families looking to add a pet to their home… I strongly “The new building has room for staff which believe that the way to improve life for animals ultimately equates to programming that helps is to partner with the people who care for save animals’ lives,” she says. “We believe them. The future possibilities are unlimited. that the best way to serve animals in our We will host monthly foster orientations to community is by serving the people who care increase our lifesaving capacity. We will have for them. Our future is focused on the citizens more volunteer opportunities. We have plans of Williamson County and what to partner with Parks and Rec they need through all stages of for a summer camp for youth “The new pet ownership. Of course, we are and so much more. We are building has planning group dog training also tasked with the enforcement room for of County rules and regulations classes for the community to try staff which pertaining to dogs and cats. We to help people and pets live more will continue to advocate, cohesively together. All of this ultimately educate, and enforce animal will be possible due to the spaces equates to welfare in our community.” provided by the new building.” programming that helps save The new facility will house twenty Want to help? WCAC has a constant need for volunteers percent more animals than the animals’ lives” and foster families. They put current building, and every animal area has access to natural light. The over 900 animals into foster homes in 2021, ventilation system is also designed to reduce including more than 700 cats and kittens. If disease, cross-contamination and control odor. you can’t volunteer in the shelter, they also need The capacity of the new space is designed with community trapping experts to help with feral twenty years of growth in mind. and community cat colonies. Local businesses can host adoption events and you can always With the current facility so limited in how the make item and monetary donations. WCAC staff can interact with the public, Ondrea is very eager to have the community WCAC’s ’s new facility grand opening is education space and wants it to be a resource planned for March 25th. Learn more at for our community, not a last resort. “Our adoptwcac.org.
