About MCAS

Our Mission

We strive to promote humane treatment of animals, prevent cruelty to animals, and provide a facility to return animals to their rightful owners. We are a shelter established to protect, feed, and house the stray, injured, abused or unwanted animals in Montgomery County, Texas. We are primarily funded by Montgomery County government and private donations through our non-profit partners. Click here for our brochure.

Serving Montgomery County since 2001, MCAS was originally established to investigate complaints about animal cruelty and to protect the public from dangerous and nuisance animals. MCAS also provided rabies control, and the inspection of animal-related business facilities such as pet shops and puppy mills.

Today, the Montgomery County Animal Shelter cares for an average of 500 lost and stray cats and dogs in the county daily. MCAS recently opened a 6,680-square-foot expansion, which increased the size of the facility to nearly 26,000 square feet. Following are some features of the expansion area:

• New dog and cat isolation rooms
• New large stray-hold rooms, each with 30 kennels for dogs
• New seperate nursery for puppies
• New stray cat holding rooms
• New grooming room
• New cat playroom
• New commercial grade laundry room
• New food storage room

The animal population is housed in 14 rooms.  The expanded space allows for a larger adoption area and the separation of stray cats and dogs from the general population.  MCAS now has 3 dog adoption rooms, 1 puppy adoption room and 1 cat adoption room! We continually strive to improve shelter operations. Most recently, we took a trip to Reno Nevada Humane Society to learn more about becoming a no-kill facility. Click here to read!

Our Director

 Dr. Patricia Ryan, DVM, was appointed Director of the Montgomery County Animal Shelter as of June 2, 2009. Dr. Ryan is a 2005 graduate of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine where she holds the honor of being the College’s oldest graduating veterinarian at the age of 57.

Our Goals

In the past, Montgomery County was initially a catch-and-kill operation wthout a clinic for spaying and neutering, or vaccinations, and without an adoption program. The holding time for animals was a three day legal hold, after which many were euthanized. We now have a full service spay neuter facility for MCAS dogs and cats and for public animals through gracious contributions from:

1. Laura McConnel and The Woodlands Dog Park Club
2. Sandra Hanson and The Friends of Montgomery County Texas Animal Shelter
3. Bruce Dailey and Texas No Kill

Additionally, we offer a low-cost vaccination clinic Monday-Wednesday of each week from 9:30 am until noon.  On Thursday and Friday mornings, by appointment, we offer free heartworm treatment to our own MCAS dogs who are heartworm positive and in foster care, or within 6 months of adopton from MCAS.  We hope to expand all of our programs in the near future.

We also vaccinate all of our shelter animals on intake, which has greatly helped to reduce the prevalence of disease.  Our goal is to treat as many treatable animals as we can in order to save more lives, and to help each animal recieve the evaluation it needs to try and find a forever home.

Our Services

• View all of our services

Veterinary Services 
 

MCAS offers a variety of veterinary services to the public at discounted rates. We want to ensure a long and healthy relationship between you and your pet. We offer the following services:

• Male Neutering for Dogs/Cats - $40
• Female Spay for Dogs/Cats - $60
• Microchip with Lifetime Registration - $20
• Rabies Vaccination - $10
• Canine Parvo & Distemper Vaccination - $10
• Feline FVRCP Vaccination - $10
• Canine Heartworm Test - $20
• Feline Leukemia FIV Test - $25
• Feline Leukemia Vaccination - $10

All fees collected by the shelter help support MCAS. The above fees are our main source of income.  Please call the front desk at 936-442-7738 for an appointment.

 Who's Your Mama?

If your pet has had a litter, we ask that you provide a safe, warm place for the puppies or kittens to have necessary time with their mother. Pups and kittens receive the important antibodies from their mother’s milk during the first few days after birth, and it is essential that they have this opportunity. Pups and kittens also benefit from having at least 6 weeks with their mother, provided she is nursing them well, so that they will learn how to socialize with one another and so that mom can teach them how to be puppies and kittens. Studies have found that pups and kittens removed too soon from their mothers grow up with behavioral issues and health problems.

Once the puppies or kittens stop nursing, usually when their baby teeth are all in, anywhere from 5-8 weeks, depending upon the litter, the little ones can move onto soft foods, such as Purina dry food for kittens or pups moistened with water.

The ideal situation is to find homes yourself for the littermates. Puppies and kittens do not do well in shelter environments because their immune systems are not yet strong enough to withstand upper respiratory infections, or parvo virus/distemper virus. Their chance of becoming infected is much greater in a shelter than in your home, so we strongly encourage you to find homes for your little ones. They have less than a 50% chance of making it at the shelter, depending on their age.

If you decide you must bring them to the shelter, we ask that they be weaned from the mother and that you bring the mother to us as well. We will them examine the mother and keep her overnight, providing her with a free spay surgery so that she cannot produce additional litters. It is our goal to spread the word about the need to curb animal overpopulation, and we will be happy to provide you with additional information about spaying and neutering for both the male and female dogs and cats.

If your pet has had a litter, we ask that your bring the mother and the litter to MCAS and we will take in the litter and spay the mother free of charge through our Who's Your Mama program.The altering of pets helps to curb the pet overpopulation in our area. The goal of MCAS is to help save the life of every adoptable animal and this is just another way we strive to reach this goal.

Foster Care Program

Each year MCAS cares for hundreds of young puppies and kittens who are not old enough for adoption and often require around-the-clock care. These young animals are placed with foster families so that they can receive the extra care and socialization they until they are old enough to be adopted out.

Calling all warm hearts and homes! MCAS is looking for volunteer foster parents to care for litters or young and neonatal kittens and puppies until they are ready to be adopted. You provide the blankets, bed and food, and we will provide basic support as needed, and medications if needed.

Pets that are candidates for our Foster Program include kittens and puppies under eight weeks of age; cats and dogs with litters; animal with minor medical needs; animals recovering from surgery or illness; and animals that have been in the shelter for long periods of time and that would benefit from time spent in a home. Animals that may be having difficulty adapting to a shelter environment are also candidates for the foster program.

Please subscribe to MCAS-Pets foster distribution list. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/, then search for MCAS-PETS and join the group.  

 

 Our Staff

We employ a staff of approximately 40 people who care for, clean, feed and operate the shelter. This includes our dispatch staff, Animal Control Officers, Kennel Staff, Vet Techs and other staff. To apply for employment at the shelter, you must apply at the county website by downloading an application and following the instructions. We always have the need for Kennel Attendants. 

Job: Kennel Attendant
Job Description
SUMMARY: Provide daily care and enrichment for animals including daily cleaning routine. Requires a working interview.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following, but are not limited to:
 

• Complete daily cleaning and feeding routines, maintaining assigned area in a clean, organized and professional manner, as scheduled and in compliance of MCAS policy and procedures.
• Promote positive relationships with the general public, volunteers and staff while promoting MCAS programs, policies and philosophies.
• Work directly with the Operations Manager and other staff members to assure the highest of standards of care in of the day-to-day operations.
• Communicate effectively and professionally with co-workers, management and the public at all times.
• Data entry as required to maintain up to date and current animal records.
• Attend training, staff and volunteer meetings as needed for position input.
• Wear appropriate, clean scrubs and name tag at all times during business hours.

Click here to inquire about this position.

 
All applicants will be reviewed and qualified candidates may be contacted for interviews. Please note that phone calls regarding open positions cannot be returned due to the high volume of calls received.