On Wednesday, November 20, Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston BARC Foundation held a ribbon-cutting for the new Don Sanders Center for Cats and Kittens at BARC, the City of Houston’s Animal Shelter and Adoptions Center, located at 3300 Carr Street Houston, TX 77026.
Through the generous support of Houston BARC Foundation donors and Sanders, BARC’s new state-of-the-art cattery will shelter more than 150 cats and feature kennel space, free-roaming spaces, and areas where potential adopters can get to know the cat they are interested in adopting.
Invited guests included Houston BARC Foundation Board Members, City Council members and major donors of BARC, who were treated to a special ‘cat-themed’ performance by Opera in the Heights and an after-hours tour of the new cattery.
“The new home for BARC’s cats and kittens would not have been possible without our strong collaboration with BARC and the City of Houston, and the incredible generosity of our donors,” said Katherine Thomasson, Chair of the Houston BARC Foundation. “We hope this achievement inspires more Houstonians to consider supporting BARC, where every dollar can make a real impact for the City’s most vulnerable animals.”
BARC is the only animal shelter in Houston required by law to accept every dog, cat, or other animal regardless of breed, temperament, health conditions, and circumstance. Created in 2010, the Houston BARC Foundation strives to improve the quality of life and survival rate of all homeless animals in Houston by raising money to help complete construction of BARC’s new adoption campus and support BARC initiatives such as onsite and community adoptions, pet fostering, pet transfer and rescue as well as free and low-cost spay and neuter programs. The center has to deal with all manner of health issues with the animals they look after, from using cbd oil for cats peeing outside of their litter box, which is a typical sign of anxiety, to administering medication for fleas and other skin conditions.
“The simplest, but most powerful thing Houstonians can do to help BARC and pets throughout the community is to foster, volunteer, donate and adopt,” Mayor Turner said. “I thank Don Sanders for his generosity and hope that more people will visit the new cattery to learn about adoption and foster opportunities.”
BARC encourages people who are unable to permanently adopt a pet but would like to help animals in need, to consider becoming a volunteer or a foster pet parent at BARC. By getting animals into foster homes, BARC has more space for additional animals as they enter the shelter.
To celebrate the Grand Opening to the public, BARC will offer $1 cat and kitten adoptions Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th. This special $1 pet adoption package includes spay/neuter surgery, vaccinations, a one-year city pet license, and a pre-registered microchip with a lifetime registration — worth hundreds of dollars if purchased independently.
Please visit www.HoustonBARCFoundation.org or www.houstontx.gov/barc for more information about getting involved in the effort to find forever homes for Houston’s homeless animals.
About BARC
BARC, the City of Houston’s Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, takes in more than 25,000 animals annually regardless of behavior, breed, or medical condition. BARC works each day to improve the health and safety of Houstonians and their pets by pioneering programs such as low cost and no cost spay/neuter services, mobile adoptions, transfer/rescue partnerships, and community outreach.
Through these programs and with support from community partners, BARC’s live release rate has improved from single-digits in 2009 to 85% in 2018.
More About the Houston BARC Foundation
The Houston BARC Foundation strives to improve the quality of life and survival rate of all homeless animals in Houston. In a major effort to prevent animals from becoming homeless and arriving at BARC, the Foundation’s goal is to raise money to directly support BARC’s lifesaving and homeless animal prevention programs, and to make spay and neuter assistance programs more widely accessible to Houston residents.