BARC ANIMAL SHELTER AND ADOPTIONS

Healthy Pets Healthy Streets

WHAT IS HPHS?
BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions is partnering with some of Houston's top pet advocates (Friends For Life, SNAP, Emancipet, Houston Humane Society and others) to reduce pet overpopulation and promote pet wellness in targeted areas of Houston. The initiative offers free spay/neuter and wellness services to pet owners in neighborhoods with a large number of stray animals and dog bite complaints in the City. See if you live inside the City of Houston limits to qualify.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Each month, we hold a HPHS event in target areas with the highest volume of stray animals to provide free spay/neuter services to owned pets in the community. Although we focus our outreach efforts in these area, we offer the free service to anyone that lives within the City of Houston limits. Each pet that receives spay/neuter services also receives free a microchip, a rabies vaccination and a one year pet license.

We usually stay in each community for a few days. The details for each event are shared on our social media pages and website. So, if you are interested in the service, keep your eyes peeled for our next event!

WHY WE’RE DOING IT:
As the fourth largest city in the United States and with a favorable year-round climate for stray and homeless animals, Houston has a large and ever-growing animal overpopulation problem. Although many individual organizations have worked to help reduce the problem across the community, it has become clear that a strong partnership of pet advocates in Houston needed to come together and take on the problem together.

So, we have teamed up with several of Houston’s top pet advocacy organizations, Friends for Life as Houston’s leading No Kill shelter, SNAP, Emancipet, and Houston Humane Society to use a strategic, targeted approach to reduce pet overpopulation, promote pet wellness, and educate Houstonians on what responsible pet ownership looks like. More healthy and sterilized pets also mean healthier and safer streets and sidewalks. This project is a comprehensive quality of life improvement for both the pets and the people living in the impacted areas. The initiative is a game-changer in many Houston neighborhoods. It is also a game-changer in terms of introducing a progressive new vision in Houston based on public/private partnerships. The way to achieve a lasting solution in the Houston community is to work together.

THE APPROACH:
This is an approach to reduce the number of stray and homeless animals in Houston.

Given the sheer size of Houston and the fact that hundreds of thousands of stray animals roam the streets each day, a strategic approach was critical in order to ensure a true reduction in pet overpopulation across the community over time. Pet advocacy groups in Austin, Texas successfully used this approach (to focus on one community at a time), and we hope to repeat that success in Houston. Although short-term results are likely, we expect to begin seeing larger reduction in intake among Houston shelters in the long term. Why do we expect this project to reduce intake rates at BARC? Because that is exactly what data from Austin shows!

HOW CAN YOU HELP SUPPORT THE PROGRAM?
You can begin by ensuring your pet is spayed or neutered, and that they are up to date on their vaccinations yearly. You can also help by educating others about being responsible pet owners.

As we continue launching additional efforts in neighborhoods across the community, your donation can help more and more pets get the services they need.

Click the image below to visit our schedule

Healty Pets Healthy Streets Flyer

BARC Information

3200 Carr Street,
Houston, TX 77026
Call 3-1-1 for more information

Get Involved

Find BARC on Facebook   Follow BARC on Twitter   BARC Instagram Page   BARC YouTube Channel   BARC on Pinterest