VCAS receives major donation from local partner

Published 6:15 am Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Through local partnerships and continued community support, Victoria County Animal Services (VCAS) pushed forward in its mission to get every pet into a loving home and keep them there. VCAS was selected by Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply for the “Round Up” program during the months of May and June.

The Round Up program gave customers the option to round their transactions up to the nearest dollar to support VCAS. The $2,282.87 donation to VCAS was approved by the Victoria County Commissioners’ Court at the Monday, Aug. 4 meeting.

Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply opened its flagship store in Montana before expanding across the country, opening stores in six total states. VCAS and Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply have held a continued partnership coordinating multiple adoption events since the Victoria location opened in September 2023.

“They always want to give back to the community, wherever they are, out of the goodness of their hearts,” Mark Sloat, VCAS director, said. “They chose us because they see what we’re doing in the community.”

VCAS works to lower its kennel’s kill-rate and keep animals in the homes they already have. Through every partnered adoption event, Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply has provided adequate space, advertising and support to VCAS, Sloat said.

The donation funds are not tied to any specific expenditure or operation, allowing them to be used by VCAS on whatever is deemed necessary. A common expenditure the funds could be used for is to spay and neuter dogs who are adopted out.

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“The way our adoptions work is, if you come here and you’re going to get a female dog and it costs $125 to get her spayed, the adoption fee ends up being the rabies vaccination cost and the spay fee. So you could have a $135 adoption for a female dog,” Sloat said.

The funds can be used for other necessary medical procedures as well. The donation goes into the VCAS general fund to be used for whatever expenditures will keep animals with loving families.

“It opens it up to help the community in ways that we can’t with taxpayer money,” Sloat said. “I can’t go in as a county agency and fix somebody’s fence with county money. But if somebody donates it, I can give them fund money [to buy] the materials and have somebody come in and fix it.”

On Saturday, Sept. 6, VCAS will hold “Dogs in DeLeon,” an adoption event in DeLeon Plaza featuring multiple community partners and local nonprofits.

“We’re trying to get as many people as we can there to showcase the other available rescue groups where people can get pets,” Sloat said. “If other local rescue groups can take in pets, they can make them immediately available for adoption.”

VCAS will move into its new retrofitted facility sometime in September or October of this year, Sloat said. VCAS will hold additional free adoption events this year and will participate in a nationwide “Clear the Shelters” initiative with Dorothy O’Connor Pet Adoption Center and other promotional events to bring the community’s attention to the animals.

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