WACO, Texas — The City of Waco has had a history of stray animals walking the streets and overcrowding at the local animal shelters.
Ken Willits told 6 News he and others in the community decided to do something about it.
"Me and a couple of other ladies on the Next Door App started noticing all these lost dogs or stray dogs," Willits explained. "We just got together and started getting people together and start talking about why? There's many reasons why."
Willits credits stray animals to people not having proper fencing, letting their pets roam freely and not microchipping their pets when they get lost.
This prompted Willits and 45 local women to create 'Waco Animal Group' (WAG). The organization's mission is to reduce the number of lost dogs on the streets of Waco by providing education, promoting community sheltering, advocating for microchipping and spay/neutering.
"We would like to become an organization that people can come to help with their issues and answer questions," Willits added. "There are so many resources out there."
For the last three months, WAG has been working to shelter dogs, educate the community and find homes for the animals.
The organization plans to partner with the Humane Society of Central Texas.
This comes after the Humane Society announced they would be terminating their contract with the City of Waco and leaving the Waco Animal Shelter campus.
"I'm sure we're going to partner up with them and be an intricate part of the Humane Society," Willits said. "They're going to be doing the same thing that we're doing on a much grander scale. They've got over 1,000 volunteers that hopefully they can bring with them, and so they can."
To join the group or learn more information about WAG, visit their Facebook page.
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