About Us

The History of The Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area

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Our Background

While we are not funded by the city, the county, or any national humane organizations, the Humane Society of New Braunfels, a 501c3 non-profit, contracts with the City of New Braunfels and Comal County to house stray animals brought in by their Animal Control Divisions. We also accept stray pets brought in by citizens and if space allows, pets whose owners can no longer care for them.

A small portion of our operating budget comes from the city and country contracts. We handle approximately 4,000 animals a year and at any given time care for approximately 100 cats and 100 dogs. The revenue we collect from our contracts covers approximately three days of care per animal and their intake vaccinations. If the animal stays longer, or needs any veterinary care, we rely on donations and adoption fees to cover those costs.

Reuniting Furry Ones with Their Loved Ones

Reuniting lost pets with their owners is a particular passion of our staff. All animals are scanned for microchips multiple times and we leverage social media to reach a wide audience when we have animals in our care that seem likely to have someone looking for them. Our “return to owner” rates are much higher than the national average because of a creative, intuitive and determined staff! When we have exhausted those efforts, finding an appropriate new home for the pets in our care is our second great opportunity. Each pet is marketed individually to highlight its unique features and hopefully attract a loving new adoptive home.

HSNBA ensures animals leaving our care have the best chance at being successful. Dogs and cats adopted through HSNBA are:

Spayed or Neutered
Microchipped
Fully Vaccinated
Treated for internal parasites
Treated to external parasites

Ill or Injured Pets

If a pet comes in ill or injured, or becomes ill while in our care, we have visiting volunteer vets who exam and treat them in the shelter. If the illness or injury is more than can be handled with the limited diagnostics available at the shelter, we send the animal to a local full service veterinary clinic for treatment. While much of our food is donated, and local vet clinics offer the shelter generous discounts, caring for 4,000 homeless animals requires financial resources. We rely heavily on donations, fundraisers, volunteers, foster homes, and adoption fees.

HSNBA History

On February 27, 1979, the Humane Society was granted non-profit corporation status by the state of Texas. The original New Braunfels Humane Society animal shelter was located at 1920 Kuehler Avenue. Shortly thereafter, the IRS granted tax-exempt status (501c3). By the end of 1978, the Humane Society Association raised $32,000.00, ground was broken for the first phase in June of 1979, and the grand opening of the animal shelter was in September of 1980. The Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area has been in operation for 35 years. In those 35 years, there have been 5 executive Directors.

The land the shelter on Kuehler was built on was leased to the Humane Society by New Braunfels Utilities. The shelter was originally built with one dog run. Eventually a second dog run was added. The Kuehler shelter was approximately 5,000 square feet. It had 36 dog runs and 34 cat kennels. We have more than double our square feet in the new shelter with approximately 11,000 square feet. We now reside on 16 acres of land owned by the Humane Society.

Reuniting lost pets with their owners is a particular passion of our staff. All animals are scanned for microchips multiple times and we leverage social media to reach a wide audience when we have animals in our care that seem likely to have someone looking for them.

While much of our food is donated, and local vet clinics offer the shelter generous discounts, caring for 4,000 homeless animals requires financial resources. We rely heavily on donations, fundraisers, volunteers, foster homes, and adoption fees.

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