The Pauls Valley Animal Welfare Society this week launched a new fundraising campaign intended to eventually provide Pauls Valley with a new animal shelter facility.
The New Pauls Valley Animal Shelter Capital Campaign will help fund a proposed 5,500-square-foot facility to be located on city-owned land in the industrial park area off U.S. Highway 77. The facility would be on a lot adjacent to the Garvin County Community Living Center.
“Over the last several years, animal welfare in Pauls Valley has changed tremendously. Our shelter has become more than a place where stray animals are housed,” Pauls Valley Animal Welfare Supervisor Christopher Hurley said. “Today, we provide lifesaving medical care. We work to keep pets with the families who love them. We support fosters and adopters. We provide community resources. We vaccinate, microchip and help connect animals with spay/neuter services. We work cruelty and neglect cases. We build partnerships. And when an animal comes through our doors needing more than the basics, we fight to give them that chance.”
More than 1,100 animals came through the shelter in 2025, according to Hurley, who said while the workload and advocacy have grown, the animal shelter building has not.
“We are doing modern animal welfare in a facility that simply was not designed for everything this shelter has become. And now it’s time for the facility to catch up,” Hurley said.
PAWS has already completed survey work on the property to ensure the site location is feasible for an animal shelter facility and conceptual designs have been completed.
As proposed, the new facility would include 30 dog runs, dedicated intake and quarantine areas, a nursery and critical-care space, multiple holding rooms, cat housing with a covered catio, meet-and-greet rooms and outdoor areas.
The new facility would provide the room and the resources to continue building an animal-welfare program that the community can be proud of, Hurley said.
The current architectural estimates place the project in the multi-million-dollar range.
“It’s a big goal,” Hurley said. “But look at what this community has already accomplished.”
Local volunteers, community members and businesses have already made huge contributions of time and resources to what PAWS and Pauls Valley Animal Welfare have become over the last few years, Hurley said.
“Now we’re asking you to help us build what comes next.”
The organization will be pursuing grant opportunities, as well as private donations as they raise capital for the project. Hurley said there are multiple ways to contribute, whether giving $10 or $100, becoming a monthly donor, making a major financial gift, getting your business involved, or simply sharing the campaign with someone who might be able to help.
“This isn’t about constructing another city building. It’s about building a place where thousands of animals will get their second chance for decades to come,” Hurley said. “We know what we can accomplish with what we have today. Imagine what we can do when we finally have a shelter built for it.”
For more information about the shelter project, to donate, or get updates visit protectadoptlove.org/shelter-campaign.
