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From one challenge to another

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New animal shelter director said she wants to fix problems
Animal shelters aren't exactly known for harboring insects. Cheryl Schneider knows that, but it didn't stop her from taking over a hornet's nest - otherwise known as the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter.

Schneider's been there three months as the new director. In that time there's been hardly a peep in the press about the animal shelter that seemed to have a black cloud hovering above it since it opened its doors in March.

I needed to know what was going so good out there - or what was not getting revealed. It seems like ages ago that concerned citizens spoke at council meetings, wrote letters to the editor and sent pictures of dead cats to the media. It seems an eternity since the shelter euthanized pets when owners were there to claim them and interim director Dana Boehm got busted for larceny.

The job description on Craigslist could not have been glamorous. The shelter was receiving one public black eye after another.

So, um, Cheryl, what made you want to take over this mess back in September?

Sitting extremely poised in her office on Wednesday and without hesitation, she said, “I knew of the problems here and I wanted to fix them. I wanted a challenge.

“I've walked into a similar mess before so I knew what I was getting into,” Schneider said.

See, about 20 years ago, this former Williamson County paramedic was assigned to become the Emergency Medical Services director in Lockhart, whose EMS was being run by the fire department. Many in the fire department who were EMTs lost their jobs because they weren't paramedics. They were hired for specific jobs and those jobs vanished. This caused an uproar in town. There was animosity between the fire department and the EMS. The tensions in Lockhart were probably as thick as what we saw with the shelter this summer.

Then, Schneider saw opportunity for the Lockhart EMS. In 1999, she and some friends came together to form Cause for Paws. Their intention was to help the Lockhart shelter, which had roughly 10 kennels, maybe one or two adoptions a year and deplorable living conditions for the pets.

She volunteered for six months at the shelter before asking the city manager to let the EMS department take over the shelter.

She spearheaded the building of extra outdoor kennels - which allowed the shelter to not only house more pets, but help separate the pets with kennel cough.

Schneider also did something with the Lockhart that was unique.

“If someone who worked at the shelter had a favorite pet, then we would not euthanize it, regardless,” she said. “It could only really be one or two per person, but our favorites didn't get euthanized. We kept them until we found a family.”

Schneider still goes back to walk Samson, a pit bull at the Lockhart shelter who may never get adopted. Schneider said she is considering implementing that policy with Williamson County.

One of the first things she did at our animal shelter is make it a rule that no animals could be euthanized during hours it was open to the public. Any euthanization is done in the mornings. The shelter opens at noon.

“Our goal is less euthanasia and more adoptions,” she said.

Of course. Isn't that the goal of most shelters and humane societies?

The policy is that stray animals with no Microchip or ID tags have 72 hours to be claimed. Those with ID have seven days to be claimed. Let's say a Cedar Park animal control officer brings in a pet with no tags or chip, but thinks they know where the pet belongs. The shelter will give them seven days for reclamation, too.

Like anybody who works at a shelter, Schneider loves pets. She brings two of her dogs - Trouble and Sunny - to work with her. They usually just lie in her office all day and wait for her just to be near. All of Schneider's seven dogs were rescued from shelters. She says she wish she could rescue more.

When Linda Gunter read all about the shelter's problems last summer, she decided to quit her regular day job to take an administrative job at the shelter as her way of helping out. She got there the same time as Schneider, who got there a few weeks before new kennel manager Ethel Spence.

Things have gotten much better at the shelter. They keep getting new volunteers who go through an orientation. There's better organization, more frequent poop cleaning duty and a steady influx of towels and blankets, which become more valuable as the weather cools.

But it's still not perfect. The shelter has taken in about 20 cats a day over the last two weeks. The overall euthanasia rate of dogs is 24 percent. That number for cats is a whopping 70 percent - half of which are feral. Cats can be hard to adopt. Ever seen a flyer for free kittens? I saw an ad on the internet for free kittens. Why would someone pay $85 for a used cat at a shelter when they can get a brand new one for free? Nothing against cats, but that's how a lot of people think. Cats usually arrive sicker than dogs. Some typically have an upper respiratory infection and with so many cats, it's hard to keep room for them.

It saddens the staff to put down animals, but it's part of the job. Schneider loves the admin side of the job but sometimes gets tired of looking at computer screens and spreadsheets.

“I have a job where I can take a break to walk a dog or pet a cat,” she said. “I love my job.”

So if you're thinking of a gift for someone, consider the shelter or a humane society. There are some little critters like Dennis the dalmatian, Lucy the basset hound and some cute kittens. I'm sure our furry little friends at the shelter would like to stick around long enough for Christmas, too.

E-mail editor@hillcountrynews.com

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