This dog, along with many others, is available for adoption at the City of Fredericksburg Animal Shelter located at 219 Landfill Lane. The shelter is open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Standard-Radio Post/Autumn Bernhard
By Matt Ward
Many of Fredericksburg’s most lovable — and furriest — residents are tucked away inside the most unlikely of places: the city landfill.
The cats and dogs who temporarily reside in the City of Fredericksburg Animal Shelter — located inside the landfill off Ranch Road 1631 — could be seeing an upgrade in their living arrangements, built in 1973 without a central heat and air conditioning system.
The facility has caught the eye of more than 1,150 city and county residents, who have petitioned the Fredericksburg City Council for a larger, modern facility.
Yvonne Gerhardt, shelter manager, has modernized the animal adoption process in spite of the aging facility, utilizing social networking through Facebook to reunite animals with their owners.
“That (Facebook) has been my lifesaver, my tool for success,” she said.
The ability to quickly connect missing dogs with owners through Facebook has led to increases in both adoption and reclaimed rates.
Existing facility
The city animal shelter has seven different runs — large concrete kennels — for dogs with one set aside for cats. Additionally, there are four quarantine runs for sick or problematic animals.
Once an animal is brought into the shelter, city ordinance requires staff to wait four full days for owners to come in and reclaim their pets.
For more on this story, read this week’s print and online editions of the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post. If you are a print subscriber, your full online subscription is free. All you need to do is call 830-997-2155 to get a password. If you are not a subscriber, call 997-2155 or click on the ‘Subscribe’ button on the left side of the home page and sign up today!