Chrissy and Cerberus

Chrissy & Cerberus

By:Jon O’Conner

Sam’s Club employee, Chrissy Mariano said she always wanted to fix her pets, but was unable to do so on her own.   With a cat, a Boston terrier, a boxer, and a pit bull to love and feed, it was tough finding the money to fund the sterilization each of them needed.

Mariano said she had heard of PALS previously and was considering contacting them for help before they hosted a free spay and neuter clinic in the parking lot of her work.

After filling out vouchers and bringing her pets to the clinic, Mariano was finally able to have all of her pets spayed and neutered.

“It was relieving getting my pets fixed for free,” said Mariano. “I’m very thankful to PALS and what they were able to do for us.”
Mariano said she has noticed positive changes in all of her pets since they were sterilized, including less dominant behaviors and more eased, relaxed demeanors.  Mariano said that of all her pets, she was most thankful to have her youngest, pit bull Cerberus fixed saying she was afraid that if he had not been neutered, he may have adopted aggressive behaviors.

“He was pretty young when we got him fixed,”  said Mariano.  “He’s always been sweet and I want him to stay that way.”

Special Offer – Low-cost Spay/Neuter for Big Dogs!

Now through the end of November, take advantage of free and low-cost spay/neuter assistance for dogs 40 pounds and over!

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Residents of central Texas area who otherwise cannot afford to fix their owned (not rescue groups or shelter) dogs 40 lbs and over may contact vouchers@preventalitter.com to qualify.

Set your stuff free – and benefit local pets

George Carlin said it the best. In his hilarious routine about “stuff,” and our addiction to stuff. “A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.”

Here’s your chance to get rid of some stuff for good, or at least free up some room so that you can acquire new stuff. Gotta have a place to put more stuff!

Make room in your closet and benefit PALS by donating nice, seasonal clothing or well-kept furniture.

You can benefit Pet Prevent a Litter of Central Texas by donating seasonable, fashionable clothing and nice furniture that you no longer want to Second to None, an upscale re-sale shop in downtown San Marcos.

If you’d like to benefit PALS, you can donate items on our behalf. Be sure to say that you are donating items for PALS, and when that item sells, our organization will receive half of the sale price!

Items to donate:
Jewelry
Mens’s and Women’s Clothing (clean, pressed and on a hanger, no more than 3 years old, and in season)
Special occasion dresses
Furniture (Call beforehand to see if they will accept it. If pickup or delivery is required, the cost comes out of the price of the item.)
Home decorations and housewares
Handbags
Children’s clothing (clean and no more than 3 yrs old, any season)
Children’s items and furniture

Donation drop-offs are accepted during normal business hours. Items that will not be sold can be turned over to charity or returned to the donor.

Individuals who donate can receive a form to use for tax-deductible items if requested at the time of donation.

Second to None
Upscale Resale
142 W. San Antonio St.
San Marcos, TX 78666
Ph. (512) 395-5690

Thank you!

Lace up your running shoes

On Saturday, October 1, the Pet Fest 5K and Fun Run will be held along the beautiful San Marcos River trails. The 5K Run/Walk will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Lion’s Club Pavilion. The all ages Fun Runs will start at 9:00 a.m. The all ages Fun Run has 2 distances to choose from– 1 mile and ¼ mile. Well-behaved dogs on leashes no longer than 6 feet are welcome to participate with their humans. The awards for the 5K are Paw Print medals. Dogs even have the opportunity to win a medal. All proceeds will be used by PALS of Central Texas to provide pet spay/neuter services to those who need assistance.

Online registration https://www.signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/77086

All registered human participants will receive a T-shirt. Participants pre-registered by 9/10 are guaranteed t-shirt sizes. Age Divisions Overall, Masters, 14 & Under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60 & over.

Pre-registration (by 9/17) for the 5K is $20.00. Late Registration (after 9/17) for the 5K is $25. The Fun Run is $15.00. Kids under 12 may participate in the Fun Run without receiving a t-shirt for $5.00. There is no fee for dogs.

Sign up and don’t miss the best run of the year!

Volunteers are needed to help from 7-10 am. If you would like to help, please email Kate -  CommunityTNRM at gmail dot com.

PALS Pet Pantry Assists Couple

Thank you to everyone who voted for the our Pepsi Refresh Grant recently! We won $5000 to purchase and distribute pet food to families in need through our PALS Pet Pantry. Our volunteers have been giving out pet food and spay/neuter assistance at food pantries in Hays County. One of the many stories of people and pets we’ve helped is that of Charity and her family.

A full-time nursing student, Charity has a heart for dogs. Big dogs! Roscoe is a 70 pound German Shepherd who is still a puppy (but he thinks he is a baby). Roscoe gives great kisses.

Charity adopted Alize’, a border collie-heeler cross, when she met someone who was giving away free puppies. Alize’ is a bundle of energy and the watchful one of the family. At just 6 months old and already weighing 35 pounds, Alize’ is sure to be a big dog, too!

PALS will provide spay for Alize’, neuter for Roscoe, and has given them a bag of dog food to tide them over at the end of a difficult month. With your support, the PALS Pet Pantry can assist many more families in need, helping keep pets with their loving guardians.

PALS, City of San Marcos Team up to Fix Pets

On Tuesday July 19th, PALS partnered with The City of San Marcos Animal Services Department to provide a special “fix your pet” clinic at Grande Communications.  In all, PALS succeeded in offering 30 no-cost pet sterilizations at Tuesday’s clinic thus preventing hundreds of unwanted litters.

Rachel and Scout

Grande has been a long-time supporter of PALS, sponsoring their annual PET FEST every fall. Grande will again be a presenting sponsor of PALS’ 9^th annual PET FEST on Saturday, October 1.

In appreciation for all of Grande’s dedicated support, PALS worked to coordinate a special spay/neuter clinic for the pets of Grande Communications employees. Grande is a dog-friendly workplace; employees are allowed to bring their dogs to work! Grande employees were thrilled and very appreciative of the free services.

PALS encourages everyone to spay or neuter their pets. For more information about the health benefits of pet sterilization, please visit the PALS website. If you have questions about spaying/neutering or would like to apply for a free pet sterilization voucher, call (512) 754-PALS.

Enjoy a Meal and Benefit PALS at the Same Time!

Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 16th! When you eat lunch at Texas Roadhouse in San Marcos, Texas, on April 16, proceeds from your meal will benefit Pet Prevent a Litter (PALS) of Central Texas. This is the third year in a row that Texas Roadhouse is supporting PALS with this lunchtime benefit.You can make it a day to benefit animals by participating in the Mutt Strutt in the morning, and then dining at Texas Roadhouse for lunch. Proceeds for PALS will support our efforts to reduce animal homelessness and euthanasia through spay/neuter programs and humane education. Thank you!

PALS Spay/Neuter Clinic has fixed 140 Community Cats in Three Months!

Thanks to a generous grant by PetSmart Charities, we now have our very own surgical team and supplies for a Mobile Animal Surgical Hospital (MASH). 

Since the clinic began in October, we have spayed/neutered and given rabies shots to more than 140 cats. The cats are feral or free-roaming cats from four low-income neighborhoods in San Marcos.

Dr. Rumple sterilizes a cat. Vet techs Marlene and Robin assist.

Pet Prevent a Litter’s MASH surgical team and volunteers will spay and neuter 500 cats by August 2011!

Your support will help us sustain and grow our clinic. We need volunteers, monetary donations, and supplies.

 

Supplies needed: Towels, sheets, laundry detergent, wet and dry cat food, pet carriers, masking tape and permanent markers can be dropped off at The Corridor Business Center, 215 W. San Antonio St. during normal business hours.

Thank you!

Humane Education – Teaching Kids to Care

 

Kids learn to care for pets

 

This summer, PALS taught a series of humane education classes at the San Marcos Nature Center this summer. Elementary-age students learned about appropriate pet care, kindness to animals, bite prevention and why it is important to “fix your pet and take it to the vet”.

Executive Director of PALS, Sharri Boyett, taught the children how to lovingly groom, feed and nurture their pets. Students also learned about pet overpopulation and how to prevent it by spaying/neutering their animals.

Pet Pantry – it just makes you feel good!

On Saturday April 10, we distributed dog food (donated by MARS Foods) and cat food (donated by PETCO) at a local food pantry in Hays County. One gentleman visited with us for a few minutes and told us he had recently had a stroke, was on dialysis, and has several other health problems. But his eyes lit up when talking about his little dog that follows him everywhere and sits on his lap. He cares for several dogs and cats too, and thanked us repeatedly. Makes it worth getting up early on a Saturday.