Two years ago this week, a dream became reality.
Our web site, rockwallpets.com, launched on June 8, 2010. It began simply as a showcase for the adoptable animals at the Rockwall shelter. About a week later, on June 18, 2010, two Rockwall Pets volunteers hosted their first weekly offsite adoption event at the Rockwall Petco.
That small beginning has blossomed into a No Kill effort that’s spreading across North Texas just two years later.
The Rockwall shelter was killing over 40% of the animals it received two years ago today. For the last six months, between 98-99% of the animals got out of the shelter alive.
What began as Find-a-Friend Fridays two years ago has grown into multiple offsite events every weekend. And what began as a two-person operation a couple of years ago has turned into a growing nonprofit rescue group that is on its way toward making all of Rockwall County a No Kill zone.
And that’s not all. Our sister organization, Dallas Pets Alive!, is about to begin saving lives in a big way over in Big D.
We couldn’t have done any of this without you. Your donations, your volunteer hours and your love of your foster pets is the lifeblood of Rockwall Pets. And we would be remiss in failing to recognize two City of Rockwall employees who were instrumental in making their facility No Kill. Sadly, Jeffrey Widmer and Juan Hernandez are no longer at the shelter, but the animals are still benefiting from their contributions.
We’re proud to look back over the past two years to see what’s been accomplished. But we’re humbled by the mountain that’s left to climb. We will not rest until all of the United States achieves No Kill. We have no doubt that it will happen in our lifetime.
Keep donating. Keep volunteering. Keep fostering. Keep these wonderful pets alive.
Photo: Nicole Nickel looks at a kitten during the first Rockwall Pets offsite adoption event on June 18, 2010.
