Planning is beginning for an disaster animal shelter in Blanco County...which will be one of only a few in the Hill Country.

As it stands now, if we or our neighbors had to evacuate their homes, there would be no place in the county where they could keep their pets safe.

Disaster shelters for people aren’t allowed to accept animals — except for helper animals, such as seeing-eye dogs — and that leaves household pets out in the cold, or rain, or both. Some people try to keep their pets in their cars, but they seldom are happy with the results.

This month, County Agent Todd Swift and the Blanco County Disaster Response Group will host a planning meeting to establish the ability to set up an emergency shelter whenever needed, perhaps for ourselves if disaster strikes here, or in neighboring counties, or even Texans from more distant counties in major disasters.

The planners will gather in the First United Methodist Church Activity Center in Johnson City, at North Avenue E and Pecan, at 9 am on Saturday, Feb 21.

In addition to finding human and physical resources, one of the first steps will be scheduling training to teach volunteers how to set up and run such a shelter safely and efficiently.

Anyone with an interest in helping animals in distress is invited to bring ideas and resources to the meeting — individuals or groups, and any age or level of expertise. A loving heart and sympathy for small creatures are the only essentials.