WHAT WE DO
Direct Support
Our Direct Shelter Support Committee provides various kinds of support to Williamson County Animal Center that helps to maintain our best-in-class euthanasia rate, develops and grows proactive programs and fosters highest quality of staff and animal care. We contribute monetary resources and volunteer time in response to these goals.
Meow Manor
Meow Manor is one of our most recent projects completed for Williamson County Animal Center. It is a fabulous free-roaming cat room inside the lobby where felines big and small can move freely while waiting to be adopted. We raised funds during the 2015 Big Payback hosted by the Community Foundation of Middle TN and received a grant from PetSmart and the CW show "Save Our Shelter."
Sun Tunnels
Sun tunnels capture natural light from the roof to the adoption spaces providing bright sunlight to the animals. The pictures on the left show how bright the tunnels are without any artificial lighting. This provides the animals with as much light as possible and helps regulate their circadian rhythms.
Outdoor Cat Porch
Why should only the dogs go outside? FWCAC oversaw the re-design and construction of the cat porch, affectionately referred to as the "catio". Built by volunteers, cats can now spend time enjoying fresh air away from the dog runs!
Other Areas of Support
Monthly medical assistance
Funding of a second vet tech position
Multi-level cat cage
Transport fees to relocate shelter animals to other parts of the country
Emergency/Overflow kennel runs
Equine facility
Community Outreach
Our Community Outreach and Education committee works with the Williamson County Animal Center and other local organizations to increase animal awareness and improve the lives of animals outside the shelter walls.
Pet Food Bank
Our Pet Food Bank provides food for at-risk dogs and cats by collaborating with Mars Petcare, local food pantries that distribute the pet food in Williamson, Rutherford, and Perry counties , and People For Animal's spay/neuter clinic that provides low cost spay/neuter assistance for those families.
Community Open House
Every year we invite the leaders of our community - in government and business - to the shelter to see what we've accomplished and what we still need to do. With community support, we can reach more animals and cultivate an environment where people and animals live in harmony.
Public Policy
Our Public Policy committee works with the Williamson County Government to revise and strengthen rules and regulations regarding animal care.
Rules and Regulations
One of the first projects of Friends of Williamson County Animal Center was to revise the rules and regulations pertaining to dogs and cats in Williamson County, Tennessee. FWCAC took great care to make sure animals were protected under the law. The existing structure was revised and strengthened to what it is today. Click here to read the regulations!
State Activism Via Non-lobbying Efforts
2013: Friends of WCAC was an integral part of the coalition to successfully defeat harmful Ag-Gag legislation, which would have criminalized whistle blowers who report animal abuse in agriculture.
2014: Friends of WCAC was a supporter of state legislation that strengthens the penalties for spectators who attend an animal fight, such a dog fight or a cock fight in Tennessee. The bill became law in the summer of 2014.
2017: Friends of WCAC helped to defeat preemption legislation known as the "Petland Bill," which would have barred municipalities from banning the sale of puppy mill dogs in pet stores in Tennessee
2018: Friends of WCAC worked with the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen on an ordinance, sponsored by Alderman Bev Burger, to ban the retail sale of puppy mill dogs within city limits. Franklin was the first city in Tennessee to introduce, and the second city to pass, such an ordinance.
2019: Friends of WCAC was again part of a large coalition of organizations and advocates that defeated a "Petland Bill" for a second time. Additionally, Friends supported state legislation sponsored by Rep. Sam Whitson, that banned the use of paraphernalia used in cockfighting. The bill became law in July 2019.