A union that began in 2019 between the Weatherford Parker Animal Shelter (WPCAS) and Weatherford College (WC) grew exponentially Friday, June 17, as the WPCAS held a grand opening for the Rees-Jones Foundation Medical and Surgical Center on the grounds.
The more than 3,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility is beside the longstanding building that once housed the medical and surgical department and remains the welcoming area. The animals are housed in another building as they wait for adoption. The WPCAS has a rate of more than 95 percent of returning animals to the community to qualify as a “no-kill shelter.
Previously, medical and surgical services were performed in a single room with less than 300 feet.
“What you’re going to see is a top-of-the-line medical center, a medical center that’s going to save lives,” Dustin Deel, City of Weatherford Director of Municipal and Community Services, told the crowd. “The partnership is in full swing with Weatherford College. It’s truly a first-in-the-nation partnership.
“We’re raising the bar in Parker County. We’re being looked at nationally here in little old Weatherford, Texas.”
The opening of the facility is also the next step in the partnership that began in 2019 with WC. The two entities partnered with the goal of raising both the vet care and animal standards in the county, as well as expanding educational and career opportunities in the community through an innovative and what is believed to be a one-of-a-kind partnership.
The partnership enables Weatherford college to offer a new associate degree in veterinary technology to students looking to become registered veterinary technicians. These types of programs are very expensive and difficult for colleges to offer due to capital requirements, staffing, and liability.
However, Deel said these are all responsibilities the shelter currently takes on regularly. So as students earn their degree they will also be bringing more help to the shelter as sort of an internship.
The college also contributed an x-ray machine, sonography equipment, and more.
The first class in this program recently graduated from WC.
“We could give them all the lectures and material in the world, but that is not the same as working with live animals,” said Dr. Kathryn Garofalo, director of the vet tech program at WC.
“It’s just been a sea of change in what we can offer. It’s been such a win-win.”
Then, Garofalo continued with a chuckle, “If you’ve ever dealt with accrediting bodies, you know they have to say some things bad. Well, they couldn’t find anything here.”
In 2018 the Rees-Jones Foundation granted the WPCAS $500,000. The foundation, based in Dallas, has granted more than $400 million around the world in 15 years.
“They’ve never given to an outside municipality before, but they saw our vision,” Deel said.
Deel also introduced Dr. Stacy McLeod, DVM as the facility’s first-ever full-time staff veterinarian.
“To be able to find one that is a high speed vet like we need, one with 20 years of experience, one that knows small animals and large animals, we are so fortunate,” he said.
Prior to joining the Shelter team, Dr. McLeod spent nearly 20 years in private, mixed animal practice, the last six years of which have been at the North Texas Veterinary Hospital in Weatherford. She graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 2000 and became a doctor of veterinary medicine in 2004. That was followed by a one-year internship in theriogenology, which focuses on veterinary reproduction, with a focus on diseases and physiology of animal reproductive systems.
Beyond her professional life, Dr. McLeod is a mother to three daughters and an animal lover to the core. Together, they raise goats, cattle, and bees, plus own dogs, cats, chickens, and horses.
“I feel blessed to be a part of something the community has made a priority,” McLeod said. “We’re trying to prevent the problem, we’re going out and finding animals that aren’t spayed and neutered. We’re trying to be more proactive instead of reactive.
“And it’s a great union with the college.”
Drew Springer of Springer Financial Services in Weatherford, a donor for the project, said, “It costs a lot more to save a dog than to kill a dog. The money raised has been fantastic.”
Springer told a story about how he and his wife adopted a westie (a West Highand white terrier) more than a dozen years ago and how much it still means to them.
“You guys are changing people’s lives,” he said of the shelter staff and volunteers. “There should be more love in the world, and having animals is one of the greatest ways.”
The WPCAS has been in operation since the 1960s, starting first as a holding facility for loose livestock, later growing in size to the present-day facility that has 184 kennels for dogs and cats, the state-of-the-art Rees-Jones Foundation Medical and Surgical Center, plus various pastures and livestock pens all situated in a park-like setting. WPCAS sees more than 6,300 animals a year.
The Shelter also offers citizens a Trap-Neuter-Release program to sterilize feral and community cats, plus various microchip and vaccination clinics throughout the year. For more information on animal adoptions, making a financial contribution, or volunteering, visit www.WeatherfordTX.gov/AnimalShelter.
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