Thinking outside the shelter in rural Texas

The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office Animal Welfare Services facility sits behind the county jail, surrounded by high fences and barbed wire. The jail is under lock and key 24 hours a day and so is the animal shelter. While the animals are well cared for and loved by the officers, understandably community members are not allowed into the facility to see the pets due to the high security risk. Until now, the only way these pets could leave alive was with animal rescue groups who were already overwhelmed with their own pets.  

Enter the SPCA of Brazoria County and Best Friends Animal Society. The SPCA of Brazoria County is a valued partner of Best Friends, dedicated to leading Brazoria County to a time when there are no more homeless pets in that community. The shelter is an open-admission facility serving multiple communities within Brazoria County, and it proudly operates as a no-kill shelter. While the SPCA team was doing a lot for their communities, they recognized that the staff and pets at Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office needed a more creative solution to save more lives.

Nicole Hardesty, SPCA of Brazoria County executive director, saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between dogs and loving homes right there in the county. Recognizing that too many dogs were lingering in the county shelter with limited options, Nicole pitched an idea to Best Friends. 

She laid out a plan that would allow the SPCA of Brazoria County to market select dogs from the county shelter, provide medical care, and find them homes through a streamlined adoption process, so the dogs could go directly from the county shelter to a loving home instead of another group or facility.

How the program works

• Evaluating dogs for adoption: The SPCA of Brazoria County built trust with the sheriff’s office, so they could send a dedicated employee to the sheriff’s office shelter to get to know the dogs.
• Providing medical care: Many dogs arrive needing medical attention, including vaccinations and preventative treatments. Best Friends provides funding so that the SPCA of Brazoria County can provide essential care, including treatment for dogs with heartworms.
• Facilitating adoption: Once identified as good candidates for the program, the dogs are featured on the SPCA of Brazoria County’s social media and at off-site adoption events specifically for pets from the sheriff’s office. They often receive basic leash training, too, to help them transition to a new home more easily. When an adopter falls in love, the SPCA of Brazoria County facilitates the adoption right there at the event, so the pet doesn’t have to spend the night at either shelter.
• Spay/neuter support: When a dog is adopted, the SPCA of Brazoria County team schedules a spay/neuter appointment at their low-cost clinic at no charge. The SPCA team then remains a resource for adopters, ensuring a smooth transition for both pets and their new families. 

Why this matters

This program is more than just a transfer of animals — it’s a second chance at life for dogs who might otherwise be overlooked, and it’s a bridge from the sheriff’s office to the community. Since the program began in mid-January, more than 50 dogs from the county have been adopted through this initiative — either locally or as part of the SPCA moving pets to other parts of the country where their chances of adoption were higher.

“By stepping in, we are reducing overcrowding, increasing adoptions, and ensuring more dogs find the loving homes they deserve,” says Nicole. “By helping the county with lifesaving efforts, we are helping to bring the entire Brazoria County to no-kill.” 

Meet Rollins

Rollins, an adult white shepherd mix, had been with the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office for at least two weeks. He was selected by SPCA of Brazoria County employee Charlotte to be one of the dogs for this new program. 

“Charlotte worked with Rollins daily on leash work and manners until he was able to go to PetSmart, where he was adopted by a loving family,” says Nicole. “Charlotte does this with all the county dogs we pull into our collaborative program. She gets to know them and helps match them with the perfect family.” 

This collaboration among the SPCA of Brazoria County, the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office, and Best Friends Animal Society is a game changer for the community’s pets. This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term solution for the homeless pets in Brazoria County. Together, we are making a direct impact, saving lives, and bringing hope to dogs in need.

If you're interested in adopting a dog through this program, please email charlotte@spcabc.org. 

If you'd like to discuss whether this type of program could work in your community, please email scregion@bestfriends.org.