A new animal advocacy organization has formed in Ellis County with a mission to connect abandoned dogs and cats with forever homes.
Not an animal rescue or a shelter, the Pet Coalition of Ellis County has formed in late-2024 to provide support and volunteers to existing animal organizations, and to collaborate on solving the growing problem of animal suffering in the county.
“We have all been seeing on social media the abandoned animals – people trying to rehome animals, unwanted litters of puppies – things like that — so, we wanted to put our heads together to figure out how we could help the community,” says Midlothian resident Nicole Vonderheide, president and co-founder of the organization.
Having recently filed for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, the group consists of eight board members and a president along with more than 50 volunteers who signed up in a January 2025 workshop to add their support to the effort.
In the few several months since the organization’s founding, Pet Coalition of Ellis County has already added up a list of accomplishments, including its first project which was a pet food and supply drive to benefit local animal shelters and animal rescues.
Once the S.P.C.A. of Texas announced in January of 2025 that it would be ceasing operation of the Ellis County Animal Care Center and the contracts it has with the county and local municipalities, the Ellis County Pet Coalition had an additional challenge to address, Nicole says.
“We’ve been working with the different city officials and county leaders, giving them tours of the Tri-City Animal Shelter to kind of give them some inspiration on what a wonderful community solution could look like,” she says about the need to maintain a modern, humane animal shelter in the area.
“We’ve been reaching out to the different shelters and animal control officers to see how we can help them and be boots on the ground. We’ve done vaccine clinics in partnership with Flying B Animal Rescue. They have a program called Snip It in the Bud and it is their spay and neuter program. We offer the community very low-cost vaccine vouchers so that they could also vaccinate their pets,” Nicole adds. “We try to connect the dots between lost pets and their forever home.”
For 2025, the coalition plans to establish a pet food pantry to alleviate the financial strain of local residents who’ve found themselves facing sudden hardships. Through such a surrender prevention program that offers temporary help with basic supplies for dogs and cats along with behavioral training for troublesome pets, the organization hopes to reduce the number of animals being abandoned on country roads or surrendered to shelters.
Nicole says the need for the new organization comes from the burgeoning population in the county and the strain that such a growing population has placed on local municipal services. With more people come more pets and more unwanted litters.
“How can we lean in and provide extra help. Not being a rescue organization and taking animals, but what can we do to support the organizations that are out there now,” Nicole says of the coalition’s mission. “So, whether that looks like advocacy, showing up to council meetings, getting community vet members involved, doing fundraising, different events, the main thing that we want to stress is we have to have a positive approach and be a part of the solution.”
For more information on how you can become a volunteer and support the animal advocacy effort, visit the Pet Coalition of Ellis County website.