ACAC is open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 5 pm and on Saturdays from 11 am to 2 pm. ACAC is currently staffed by 8 employees. Lenor Teague is the Director, and she oversees the current staff— an assistant director, an administrative assistant, three Kennel techs, one animal control officer, and one part-time office clerk. 870-773-6388 is the number to call the shelter during business hours. For emergency calls during afterhours please call 911. Recently we have had trouble with our voicemail being full, but we are confident that problem has been resolved and encourage citizens to contact our office to report a missing pet, get information about adoptions, or any other thing related to the ACAC.
Recent Closures
The animal shelter has recently been closed on several occasions related to maintenance, cleaning, and the COVID pandemic. In late September the shelter was closed for intensive cleaning and reopened on November 5, 2021. The Shelter was also closed to the public from November 17 until November 29, 2021, due to COVID and again from January 13 to January 18, 2022, for COVID. We understand this has been an inconvenience for the public. We do not anticipate further closings in the near future, and we hope there are no more unexpected closures in 2022. The health and wellbeing of our employees and the public with whom they interact is our highest priority. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
New Building Expansion, Opening and Status
The City of Texarkana, Arkansas, and the ACAC are excited for the opening of an additional building constructed last year that will be used as an adoption center. Unfortunately, there have been delays beyond our control that have kept us from opening the new building. The major delay has been delivery of kennels for the new facility. We are anticipating delivery in February. In addition to the kennels, there is also some unfinished interior construction that must be completed before the facility can open. Contracts are currently being awarded for the interior work. We want to ensure that everything is 100% complete before we open the new shelter so we can provide the best service and efficiency possible.
One Million Dollar Donation
The City was blessed in February of 2021 with a one-million-dollar donation from Neva Nell McCormick for the Animal Care and Adoption Center, and there have been questions from citizens regarding how that money has been spent. Below is a current breakdown of how those funds have been disbursed to date.
July 2021 – Payoff Note of the new building ($726,616)
August 2021 – Kennels for new building ($82,500)
October 2021 – A/C Unit ($5,175)
November 2021 – Memorial sign ($833)
November 2021 – Glass for cat room ($5,076)
*Remaining money will be used for further improvements and necessities at the new facility Repairs on Existing Building
In addition to work that is being done on the new building, there has also been a lot of work done on the existing facility that includes painting, new glass windows and doors, Kennel repair, puppy room paint
and repair, pest-proof food containers, metal cabinets for laundry room, washer and dryer repairs, animal bathing tub repairs, and a lot more to come!
Volunteering, Group Collaboration, and Animal Fostering
We have plenty of opportunities available for those who wish to volunteer. Whether you are an individual or belong to an advocacy group that has interest in helping our animals, we are confident we can find a way for you to help us. The process to become a volunteer requires that you come to the shelter and fill out a volunteer application form with a copy of your ID and then we can assign you a position based on your skills and interests. There is also an opportunity for those who wish to foster animals. Foster applications are readily available to anyone who is interested. There is also an opportunity for sponsoring an animal, which includes paying for medical expenses and/or food for an animal which will make it much cheaper for someone who wants to adopt the animal as a pet. We understand that to ensure the best possible outcome for our animals it will take a full community effort ranging from passionate groups and individuals to partner with government. We are thankful to everyone who is willing to help us make things better.
Information Outreach and Social Media
In past years Facebook has been a great source to help connect and communicate with the Animal Care and Adoption Center. We understand there has been some confusion regarding the shelter’s presence on Facebook. We currently do not have control of the Facebook page that had been used by previous employees of the shelter for many years and are now using a new page. We have attempted to contact the previously known administrator of the old page in hopes that they would turn it over to us but have so far been unsuccessful in reaching them. We have filed a request with Facebook to regain control of the older page and are waiting for a response. While that issue is being resolved, we urge everyone to use the newly created page to correspond with us through social media, as well as see the most up-to date information regarding the shelter. This page can be best found by putting “TKARKANIMALS” into the Facebook search bar and then clicking on the animal shelter page. The page can also be found at this address: Facebook.com/TKARKANIMALS. If you simply search for “Texarkana Animal Shelter” on Facebook, there is a good chance that you will come across the old page, which is no longer being updated. Be sure to put in TKARKANIMALS in the search bar to ensure that you get the correct page.
Need-to-know Information
Animal Care & Adoption Center – 203 Harrison St, Texarkana, AR 71854
Phone number – 870-773-6388
M-F – 11 am – 5 pm; Sat – 11 am – 2 pm
Facebook.com/TKARKANIMALS
Dog Adoption cost – $174-182
Cat Adoption cost – $126-$146
Drop-off fees
• $150 outside City limits
• $150 Texarkana, Texas
• FREE to residents inside city limits with proof of residency
Number of adoptions Oct 2021 – Jan 2022 = 93
Number euthanized Oct 2021 – Jan 2022 = 16
