Pet owners and pet lovers gathered last Friday evening at the Kerrville Pets Alive! Safe House adjacent to the Schreiner University campus to remember the pets and other animals lost in the devastating flood last July 4. Unity of the Hill Country co-sponsored the event, which featured music by singer- songwriter Aaron Lacombe.
“On July 4, 2025, despite the heartbreaking personal losses we were already hearing about, we knew our responsibility was to step up for the animals of Kerr County. Here on this property and at our facility just down the road, we experienced weeks of heartbreak, hope and extraordinary compassion,” said Pets Alive! executive director Karen Guerriero.
Guerriero said volunteers dropped everything, including their jobs, families and personal lives, to rescue animals, reunite pets with their owners, provide medical care, organize donations and continue caring for the many animals already depending on Pets Alive!
“We could not have done it alone. Thank you to the donors, veterinary partners, Austin Pets Alive (which emptied the county shelter after the flood to allow room for rescued flood victim pets), the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition, Texas A&M, our local media and the businesses, shelters, rescue organizations, landowners, veterinarians and the countless individuals who stood beside us. Thank you to the children who sent letters, artwork and raised money for the animals. Your kindness carried us through the darkest days,” Guerriero said.
Guerriero pointed out that when the flood occurred, Kerrville Pets Alive! was still a young organization that asked itself how it could meet the overwhelming needs before it.
“The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country stepped in, giving us the support we needed to say ‘yes’ when it mattered most. One year later, we remember the heartbreak, but we also remember the incredible compassion that defined this community,” Guerriero said.
She said the flood and its aftermath showed the community needed more than animal rescue; it also needed a pet resource center.
This month Kerrville Pets Alive! will move into its permanent home at 2926 Memorial Blvd. The new SAFE Campus will help keep pets with the families who love them by providing resources, education and support, while continuing the original Pets Alive! mission to save Kerr County pets from euthanasia at the county animal control facility.
“Our vision doesn’t stop there. Phase 2 will allow our facility to become a Pet Disaster Relief Center, stocked with emergency supplies and capable of providing temporary shelter for both people and their pets, because no family should ever have to choose between their own safety and the animal they love,” Guerriero said.
“The flood taught us that preparing for tomorrow is one of the greatest ways we can honor yesterday. We cannot change what happened on July 4, 2025, but we can honor those we lost by ensuring we are better prepared for whatever comes next,” Guerriero said in closing. She then thanked everyone for believing in the mission of Kerrville Pets Alive! and for helping it “turn unimaginable loss to lasting hope.”
Leave a Reply