West Texas winters can be brutal on canines, which is why a Midland non-profit organization is building barrel shelters.
Fix West Texas, aside from neutering and spaying cats and dogs to address overpopulation and euthanasia, also works to provide animals shelter.
"They're just like us, if you can imagine spending the night outside in the freezing cold, that’s a lot of suffering and so that’s what we’re trying to prevent," Karen Patterson, FWT president, told NewsWest9. "Our main goal is to just keep all animals as warm and free from suffering this winter as possible."
Midland’s CBS affiliate reported that the shelters cost $10 to make.
FWT said while it has enough supplies for the task, it welcomes anyone who offers a helping hand.
"If there’s anyone in the community that wants to come up here during the week while we're open and work on making those, we do have a warehouse in the back, we do provide the supplies, the tools, but we just kind of lack the manpower right now," Patterson told NewsWest9.
Anyone in need of a shelter can pick up one.
The organization simply asks for the price of supplies, according to the station.
Last February’s unprecedented winter storm which blanketed the state with ice and snow and rendered millions without power for days is undoubtedly not far from the minds of Patterson and her group.
Austin’s KVUE reported that the rare weather event impacted many rescue pets as shelters statewide either reached full capacity or lacked sufficient resources to help them, prompting one shelter to send pets out of state.
A new state law requiring dogs to have shelter will go into effect next month.
Patterson invites anyone in search of a shelter for their dog or has interest in helping FWT can visit the group’s office or email Karen@fixwesttexas.org.