VCAS sees success with National Adoption Week

Published 6:15 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

By Michael Milliorn

(Victoria Advocate file photo)

National Adoption Week with PetSmart took place from July 20 to July 26. PetSmart charities, an organization that has developed a deep partnership with the Victoria County Animal Services (VCAS), sponsored the event in Victoria.

During National Adoption Week, VCAS saw 47 dogs and cats adopted for free by community members. For every VCAS adoption during the past week at the local PetSmart, PetSmart charities provided VCAS with $50.

PetSmart charities has been a longtime partner of VCAS and provided the organization with a number of grants. A portion of the grant money collected by VCAS was used to spay and neuter the animals before adoption week so they would be prepared for their new homes.

“I want to give my staff a big shout out,” Mark Sloat, VCAS director, said at the July 28 Victoria County Commissioners’ Court meeting. “The fact that they were able to get this all organized with just a few phone calls here and there to me, and get animals back and forth to the vet to get them spayed and neutered, was huge.”

Not only did VCAS adopt out 47 pets during National Adoption Week, the number of adoptions at the Victoria PetSmart location reached 67. The benchmark of 67 adoptions is one of the highest in the region.

“Thank you to all the citizens in the area that adopted animals from all the rescues at PetSmart. It’s super helpful,” Sloat said.

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    • The increase in available animal housing space as a result of the National Adoption Week adoptions will help VCAS maintain their live-outcome rate. VCAS has surpassed the national standard for a facility’s live-outcome rate of 90 percent for this year.

    The main strategy for increasing the facility’s live-outcome rate and preventing unnecessary euthanasia has been moving animals out of the facility quickly. The more adoptions VCAS has and more lost pets reunited with their families, the higher the live-outcome rate will be.

    Having the funds to spay and neuter animals and making adoption processes quicker and more cost-effective are crucial to limiting space-based euthanasia. The funds collected by VCAS through its partnership with PetSmart charities are essential to saving as many dogs as possible in Victoria County.

    Soon, VCAS will move into its new facility that features an increased number of kennels and the necessary space to hold more animals for longer periods of time until other homing options are available. It will be far less likely the new facility exceeds capacity and VCAS’ monthly live-outcome rates will continue to increase.

    Michael Milliorn is a news reporter for the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at michael.milliorn@vicad.com.

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