Does the Richest City in Texas Have an Animal Shelter?

10. Midland, TX has a MHI of $75,886, a population of 157K, and indeed, its own municipal shelter. Check out their shelter and all the services it offers. https://www.midlandtexas.gov/391/Animal-Services.
11. Carrollton TX with a median household income of $77,998, and a population of 145K also have its own shelter. The city can also boast about being home to Operation Kindness. https://www.cityofcarrollton.com/departments/departments-a-f/animal-services, https://www.operationkindness.org/.
12. Round Rock TX with its MHI of $79,444, approximately 146K people, is only 9.5 miles from the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter in Georgetown. https://pets.wilco.org/.
13. McKinney, TX has a MHI of $93,546, a population of 221K, and is home to Collin County Animal Services. https://www.collincountytx.gov/animal_services/Pages/default.aspx.
14. Plano, TX has a MHI of $94,306, a population of 284K, and a shelter. Like Austin, Plano often ranks as one of the top pet-friendly communities in Texas. https://www.plano.gov/226/Animal-Services.
15. League City, TX close to Houston has a MHI of $98,593, a population of 105K, and yes, their own municipal shelter. https://www.leaguecitytx.gov/3899/Animal-Care-Adoption-Center.
16. Pearland, TX coming in with a MHI of $105,806 and a population of 125K just unveiled its new city shelter in April 2022. https://www.pearlandtx.gov/departments/engineering-and-capital-projects/projects-division/project-updates/animal-services-shelter.
17. Allen, TX with a median household income of $106,475 has a shelter for its population of 111K. https://www.cityofallen.org/947/Animal-Services.
18. Sugar Land, TX with a MHI of $110,798, and a population of 117K has a local shelter that is continuing to expand. https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/1652/Animal-Shelter-Expansion.
19. The Woodlands, TX with a MHI of $117,180, started as a master community before becoming a city, has a population of 113K, and a county shelter only 5 miles away. https://www.mcaspets.org/

Frisco would have rounded out the top ten list of richest cities in Texas with its MHI of $122,302 and its 100K+ people, but we couldn’t include it because Frisco doesn’t have a municipal shelter. Frisco isn’t home to a county shelter nor a nonprofit rescue and adoption center within 10 miles. Collin County Animal Services (CCAS), the county shelter Frisco uses, is 18 miles away and is a 25-45 minute drive on a good day, one way.

Now, this raises even more questions. Why doesn’t the rich city of Frisco furnish this public service to its caring residents and their own employees? Every day, Frisco Animal Services (FAS) takes lost and stray animals to the county shelter in McKinney where they will be held for a 5-7 day stray hold period in hopes of being reclaimed by their owners. At the same time, Frisco residents have taken on the role of animal control, picking up pets, keeping them in their home or yard, while trying to find their owners.

When we asked why the City does not have an animal shelter, Frisco leaders dismissed the need citing the City doesn’t have the money. Meanwhile, Frisco currently has a stunning and existing library that they are replacing with a $62 million library located down the street. From our benchmark studies, the estimate for a municipal animal shelter is a cost of $10-$12M to build with an operating budget of $800,000. Frisco can find the funds to replace a facility the City already has, when there are other structures the community is missing, but needs, i.e. an animal shelter?

The other rebuttal from city representatives is that FAS’ intake numbers do not warrant the added expense. The numbers are admittedly not accurate as the only record of lost and stray animals from Frisco being impounded are when FAS or residents personally transport them to CCAS. Which in turn means, that all the citizens who take pets into their homes (or if they reside in another city but find them in Frisco) are not always counted as a Frisco city intake. Furthermore, city management is quick to boast that FAS, residents, and social media are doing a better job reuniting owners and pets than neighboring cities with local shelters. If that is true, wouldn’t you think the City would reward their community with more local drop-off options for all the animals they rescue? With pets scattered all over the area and a long list of social media platforms available to post lost and stray pets, wouldn’t it be better for everyone if there was one central location in Frisco for pets to be safely housed until they are able to be reunited with their owners or made available for adoption?

Is this something you want to change? Frisco is in the early planning stages of a Bond. There are several steps you can take to help the Frisco residents get their long over-due municipal animal shelter on this Bond. The animals and the community of Frisco need you more than ever to step up to the plate and make your voice heard. Here are things you can do to help the cause:

• Sign the Frisco’s Pet Project PETition here
• Like and Share our Frisco’s Pet Project on Facebook and our new Twitter page at the top of this page
• Write Frisco Animal Services and the Frisco Police Department asking City Staff to request an animal shelter to be placed on the upcoming bond at https://www.friscotexas.gov/131/Animal-Services
• Email the Mayor, Council, and City Deputy Managers