By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
Boxes are piled high in the Humane Society of Central Texas’ administrative office as they prepare to vacate the premises, signaling the end of a 12-year partnership with the City of Waco.
On Aug. 23, the City of Waco announced in a press release that they terminated the Animal Services Agreement, a collaborative effort between the city and the Humane Society of Central Texas (HSCTX).
Monica Sedelmeier, a public information officer in the city’s communications and marketing department, wrote in a press release that, despite the termination agreement, they are handling the situation and all animals involved with care.
“The City of Waco is deeply committed to ensuring this transition is handled smoothly with the continued safety and welfare of the animals in our care remaining our top priority,” Sedelmeier said.
The Waco Animal Shelter has been functional for over 50 years, with the HSCTX assuming sole management from 1980-2012. For those 50 years, they operated as an animal shelter, not a rescue, meaning they rarely close intake, according to its website.
According to the Waco Animal Services Department, the City of Waco began contracting with the HSCTX in 2012 as the “primary Animal Care operator,” assisting in staffing the shelter for maintenance and veterinary care.
This contract continued successfully for over a decade, with more than $100,000 poured into the shelter, according to the Waco Animal Services official website.
Tom Lupfer, interim director of the HSCTX, said the shelter couldn’t afford to stay in Waco after unfruitful financial negotiations continued.
“Unless the city was willing to step in and give us a consistent reimbursement to manage this whole thing, we told them we just couldn’t afford to stay,” Lupfer said. “We just didn’t want to drive ourselves into insolvency.”
Financial negotiations between Waco and the HSCTX have been ongoing since 2023 according to Lupfer. A $1.2 million budget was proposed by the HSCTX for the next annual year, and the city could “not meet that demand,” according to Waco Animal Services.
“I think the evidence is going to prove them wrong [when they] finally understand they’re going to be spending at least $600,000, if not a million more, to do what we’ve been doing for them for free on our own nickel for years now,” Lupfer said.
According to Lupfer, the HSCTX has been responsible for animal transport, spay and neutering surgeries, adoption events and other veterinary surgeries on their own dime. Lupfer said that while the City of Waco reimbursed them, their finances are more intricate than they seem.
“Even when the city reimbursed us for the spay and neuter, they weren’t reimbursing us for the driver, van, gas or transport,” said Lupfer. “So between the staff here, the drivers on the road and the cost of the vans, it was about $10,000 for 29 dogs. That’s around $350 per dog.”
Current data from the Waco Animal Services Department shows capacity at 106% for dogs and 62% for cats, with a total of 802 animals under shelter care. According to Lupfer, throughout the contract, there were only two veterinarians on staff taking care of these animals.
“The city has to do everything by contract, so that’s why they always had us doing all of this because we’re a separate entity and had flexibility,” said Lupfer. “Wherever we could find an open spot, we would move over there, so we were probably using three to six different vet clinics at a given time.”
The City of Waco’s municipal code states that all animals must undergo a spay or neuter surgery before being released into foster care or formally adopted. Lupfer said this policy and staffing issues keep capacity rates high.
“The onsite vet staff are only accomplishing about five to six surgeries a day,” said Lupfer. “Intake is bringing in 15-20 dogs a day and usually 60-70 dogs a week.”
Between the financial obligations and manpower needed to support an operation this large, the Waco and HSCTX collaboration kept the lights on at the shelter for many years, but Lupfer said it wasn’t sustainable for much longer.
“The shelter is running in excess of 100%,” said Lupfer. “There are shelters in Dallas running at 250%. It’s all over Texas, all over the South and almost everywhere else in the country.”
Despite the overcapacity, the HSCTX retains its no-kill status, meaning the shelter has a 90% or more live-exit rate. Achieving this status for the first time in 2016, Lupfer is hopeful it will continue under new management.
“It’s been a great success, and I think all of us are just very concerned that we don’t backpedal on that,” said Lupfer.
Shelter operations will still continue at the same location, according to the City of Waco’s official press release. In the next year, the shelter will spend $1 million to hire 15 new staff, according to an update presented to Waco City Council on Tuesday. The transition plan also includes a new clinic building, more animal enrichment, increased security, parking and more.
Lupfer said he is still hopeful for future collaborations with the city.
“I think, eventually, they’ll understand they need us,” Lupfer said. “I know we need them.”
