11/06 – Girl Scout Troop 1579 Wildflower Planting

We were fortunate to have Girl Scout Troop 1579 come out and scatter buckets and buckets of wildflower seeds on our property. Soon you’ll be seeing beautiful flowers on our grounds thanks to these awesome scouts!

11/06 – Mitchell Coe, Eagle Scout Project and Morgan Kainu, Silver Award Project

Mitchell and Morgan gave our front entrance a much needed renovation for their scout projects. Their goal was to make the entrance more attractive and eye-catching. Mitchell and his troop removed old fencing next to the gate and installed and painted new fencing. Morgan worked to align the fence posts along the roadside and also installed a mailbox. See the before and after pictures below – what a difference!

Before

After

9/06 – Girl Scout Troop 1805 Donation Drive

Girl Scout Troop 1805 did a donation drive and collected a whole van full of dog and cat supply donations. Thanks girls!! If your troop would like to do a donation drive to help the animals at the HSWC please contact our Volunteer Coordinator.

9/27/06 – Dell Volunteer Work Group

This group of Dell employees volunteered to complete some backbreaking work. In addition to painting and completing kennel improvement projects, they're still sore from removing the tile flooring in our office. They went above and beyond and had great attitudes all along. Thanks guys!

9/23/06 – Garage Sale and Bake Sale

Volunteer Lori Rogowski recently organized a garage sale and bake sale to benefit the foster program. We received so many donations and support it was overwhelming! The rain stayed away and the shoppers poured in. The sale was a huge success and there will be many happy foster dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies as a result. Special thanks to donors, buyers, the volunteers who helped with set up, sales, and tear down, Happy Tails 4-H Group, Girl Scout Troop 32, and most of all Lori and her family.

9/22/06 – Dell Volunteer Work Group

A large group of Dell employees left the comforts of their offices and spent one hot day volunteering at the HSWC. The group did an office makeover, painted kennel areas, landscaped, and helped us set up for our garage sale. The results are fantastic and we couldn't be happier with their work!

8/06-9/06 – Extreme Makeover! by Mike and Yoli Amr and Daniel Shepard

The exterior of the house recently had a facelift and boy, what a difference!

Before

Mike and Yoli Amr took time off of work in August to volunteer for the HSWC after seeing a need for an exterior office makeover. We wish we had 100 Mike and Yoli's - they were extremely generous with their time and resources and had the most amazing work ethic and attention to detail. Some of the projects they completed include: power washing the exterior, trimming overhanging trees, removing gating materials, replacing damaged architectural pieces, scraping peeling paint, and painting the exterior.

Daniel Shepard finished up the new look with his Eagle Scout Project. Daniel first had to conduct research to determine the types of plants that would be best for the environment and also had to determine how to fix the flooding issues we had in the area. He consulted with HSWC staff frequently to ensure that he met our needs and wishes and then put together a work plan. He and his troop installed a sprinkler system, irrigation system, flower beds, and vegetation over several weekends. Daniel's work is a great example for other scouts wishing to complete their Eagle, Silver, or Gold Award Project.

The Amrs and Daniel Shepard and company spent hours and hours on these projects in the hot summer sun and we greatly appreciate their efforts and generosity. The final product is absolutely amazing and we could not be happier!

After

07/2006 – Micaela Schmitt's Silver Award Project

Volunteer Micaela Schmitt completed her Girl Scout Silver Award recently by planning and installing an appealing and wheelchair accessible pathway between the house and the barn. Micaela raised money for the project by having a garage sale, babysitting, asking for donations in lieu or birthday gifts, and selling home décor items as a Southern Living Consultant. She contacted Rick Silva, owner of Summit Pools, who generously donated materials and labor to install the pathway. Thank you to Micaela and Rick, two big hearted animal lovers, for all their kindness and hard work.

7/1/06 – Offsite Adoption Day

The offsite adoption team took Sherri to a recent PETsMART event and she quickly caught the attention of a nice family. The couple was looking for a male dog, but fell in love with sweet Sherri and her sweet little face. They renamed her “Wanda Waterbottom” and took her to her new forever home that day.

6/10/06 – HSWC teams up with Animal Planet

Williamson County was one of 13 communities this year that was chosen to host Animal Planet Expo. The HSWC was invited to be a part of the event and our Offsite Adoption Team conducted dog adoptions, collected donations, and spoke to members of the public about our great programs and services.

6/9/06 – Splish splash! Dogs are takin’ a bath!

Pictured are Lori and Emily Rogowski, members of the HSWC’s Gleam Team, giving Fiona a shower and scrub in the new grooming tub. Special thanks to volunteer, Linda Waggoner, for generously donating the tub for our dog grooming room…because the old tubs made her back hurt. We love you Linda!

6/2/06 - Dell Volunteer Work Group

A group of animal loving Dell employees spent the afternoon working on facility improvement projects at the HSWC. One team worked to makeover our canine health check room by repairing the ceiling, hanging window shades, removing unneeded equipment, and organizing supplies. The other team worked to create accessibility to our new outdoor adoption areas by moving and reconstructing an existing kennel and creating a mulch pathway. Wow - what a difference!! Thank you for your hard work!

Thank you to Dell for encouraging their employees to volunteer and thank you to this group for choosing to volunteer their time at the HSWC!

5/13/06 - See Our Newly Remodeled Cattery

That's right, our cattery has been remodeled. It now has a cat visitation room and a cat habitat, not to mention a nice new floor and a fresh coat of paint. View the photos and read more about it.

4/29/06 - Spring Fling Mutt Strutt 2006

View all the photos from our 2nd Annual Spring Fling Mutt Strut!

2/18/06 - Devlin, the Dog Mayor of Abilene, Texas

The Humane Society of Williamson County had a very special guest this weekend: Devlin, The Dog Mayor of Abilene, TX came to visit. Yes, that's right, he's the Dog Mayor. Devlin, his owner Annette, and members of Austin Models and Talent passed out treats to all the furry friends in the shelter and collected donations.

As Ambassador of Good Will for Pets, Devlin has traveled through 42 states in the U.S., representing millions of pets and homeless animals across the country. His focus is to gain positive public and media attention and awareness of animals. He has gained national acclaim for animals in Abilene, the State of Texas, and across the nation and has been featured in the Washington Post, National Geographic Magazine for Kids, and numerous other publications and newscasts.

Thanks Devlin, Annette, and AM&T for coming out to help the animals at the HSWC!

2/9/06 - Dog House Donations - Made by 8th Grade Students at RBMS

Beth Dees, a math teacher at Running Brushy Middle School, created a multidisciplinary, hands-on project which benefited the Humane Society of Williamson County. Her 8th grade students created scale models and perspective drawings of doghouses and then submitted their plans to Alan Adcock’s Building Trades students at Leander High School. The Trades students selected attributes of the designs to generate a design that would maximize the use of materials. Under the supervision of the Building Trades students, the 8th graders built the doghouses. To finish them off, they calculated the surface area of the houses in order to determine how much paint was needed and then painted the houses based on their original designs. The doghouses were donated to the Humane Society of Williamson County and are available to the public for a suggested donation of $100.00.

RBMS, LHS, and HSWC would like to thank to Cashways Building Materials of Leander for donating the materials to build the doghouses.

Pictured above: 8th grade students showing off their finished product.
Below: Volunteer Coordinator, Sandy Shannon, thanking the students for their hard work and donation at a RBMS assembly.

1/31/06 – Primrose School Donation Drive

The Humane Society of Williamson County would like to thank the students, parents, and teachers of Primrose School for collecting donations for the animals. The HSWC showed their thanks by bringing in a special guest to pet, Auggie the Doggie, a HSWC alumni owned by volunteers Tina and Mike Lucas.

Pictured: (Left) Proud Primrose Students pose with their donations and with Sandy Shannon, Volunteer Coordinator, and Tina Lucas and Auggie, Volunteers.

(Below) Students at Primrose saying hello to Auggie the doggie.

1/28/06 – Low Cost Vaccination and Microchip Clinic

The word is getting out! January’s Low Cost Vaccination and Microchip Clinic was the busiest thus far with 53 people bringing in 75 pets. The clinic would not run as smoothly as it did without help from volunteers. Pictured below is Volunteer Laura Boyd having a customer sign in to the clinic.

1/28/06 – United Heritage Credit Union Opening

The United Heritage Credit Union celebrated the grand opening of their new branch in Cedar Park by having a community event with free food, fun family activities, and United Heritage Giveaways. The HSWC adopted out 2 animals at the event and promoted our services and mission. As an added bonus, for each new account opened from January 26 through March 31, 2006, United Heritage will donate $5 to one of four organizations in the area, the HSWC being one of them. Pictured below are some of the volunteers who helped make the event a success for the HSWC: Lara McKeown, Tim Gregg, Kristine McKeown, and Kristina Bush-Peterson.

1/21/2006: Boy Scout Pack 312 Service Day

Boy Scouts Joey T., Cody W., Cody S., Christian H., and Noah Z and leaders David and Mitze T. chose to volunteer at the HSWC for a group service day. They worked to better our curb appeal by doing landscaping and rubbish clearing. The HSWC is looking pretty! Thanks guys!