As Houston's animal rescuers hit the brakes due to unexpected van repairs, League City's shelter has thrown open its kennel doors, waiving adoption fees to handle a surge in canine intake. Rescued Pets Movement (RPM), the city's top pet transport service has saved over 86,000 animals in the past decade by shuttling them from Texas to Colorado. According to a FOX 26 interview with RPM's Chief Development Officer Shelby Roquemore, "Without our vans, we can't save lives." The critical nature of these services is only underscored as all six of the organization's vans are sidelined for repairs.
Meanwhile, the League City Animal Care & Adoption Center is grappling with a different challenge. Between March 15 and 18, they received as many dogs as they usually do in an entire week, pushing their resources to the brink. As Lynette Bodmer, the Animal Services Supervisor, told Community Impact, “Basically, in three days, we saw as many come in as we did the entire previous week,” This influx raised the shelter's population to 85 dogs, which is 37 more than their facility comfortably accommodates.
To alleviate overcrowding, the League City shelter is allowing adopters to name their price instead of the standard $75 adoption fee, starting March 21. This initiative, aimed at finding homes for the dogs, will include the cost of spaying or neutering, microchip insertion, rabies vaccination, and deworming. According to the same statement by Bodmer, the policy will run through the end of March and possibly longer if needed.
Bodmer also emphasized the community's role in supporting the shelter. "We have foster programs whether they're long term or short term overnight, [we have] so many volunteer opportunities, and we have various ways to give," she said in a statement. Similarly, RPM, despite its current logistical hurdles, is reaching out for public generosity to help mend their vans. Roquemore detailed last year's herculean effort, explaining that their fleet "drove as if we drove the circumference of the Earth 21 times." Support can be channeled through donations online or by texting RPM to 53555.
