A Frisco Non-Profit’s quest to bridge gaps in pet education, adoption, and resources in Frisco
By Yvonne Brown
When a self-proclaimed crazy dog lady crossed paths with a crazy cat dude a few years ago, it was the start of something special for Frisco residents and pet owners. Chris Fields and Laura Rummel met while navigating various local election events. Both shared a love of pets and had been advocating for animal initiatives at the city level for multiple reasons.
Many people are familiar with Laura because of her role as a Council Member for The City of Frisco, but her experience with domestic pet advocacy, philanthropy, and pet rescue operations goes way back and beyond her city role. She has over ten years of experience and history volunteering in various capacities, including being a medical care coordinator and foster care coordinator, handling and transporting dogs, and hosting many adoption events. She is the proud owner of two dogs she calls her mystery mutts – Dez is a black mouth cur/boxer mix, and Chance is a German shepherd/corgi mix.
Chris is originally from Santa Monica, California but after having spent time visiting Texas while working for large corporations, he grew to love Frisco and decided to move here in 2016. Over time he, too, got involved in local animal advocacy events and fostering. Chris owns two cats: Shadow, a European shorthair, and Nairobi, a Russian blue and what he calls his ‘foster fail.’
During Laura’s first year on the City council, she drove the initiative to set up a much-needed Animal Advisory Committee. This committee is an ad-hoc citizen committee created in 2022 that advises and supports the Frisco City Council on animal-related issues and advocates for animals and pet owners. Chris became a member of that Committee and now serves as its chairman.
Together, Laura and Chris shared pet passion stories and found common ground, discussing a void where no one was fighting for more education and advocacy for domestic pets. Even sourcing basic information on what to do in specific pet emergencies was tricky for residents. They decided to start a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and Frisco Pet Partners (FPP) was born. The mission of Frisco Pet Partners is to perpetually support the City of Frisco, its citizens, and its pets by providing animal education, supporting low-cost veterinarian options, and ultimately helping to reduce the homeless pet population.
While there is currently no dedicated animal shelter in Frisco, no matter where animals are picked up in the city, they are eventually sent to Collin County Animal Shelter located in McKinney. Not everyone is aware of this process or many others, so Laura and Chris felt there was an opportunity to bridge that gap and provide a centralized one-stop shop to support pet owners, various domesticated pet needs, and much-needed education to the owners.
“The conversation that we heard a lot of times was, ‘Well, we want the private sector to step up here.’ And in some cases, we completely agree, there are some things the government is just not good at. Nor should they be” Laura explained. “They are the government. So, we decided, ‘You know what? You’re right; we should start this.’ So, we formed Frisco Pet Partners to specifically be the partnership alongside the city in areas where government just doesn’t work.”
The intention was to establish an A – Z list of pet resources and connections for residents in an effort to equip them with ample resources and ultimately help them become better pet owners. A few of the services Frisco Pet Partners offer include:
Financial Aid – Connecting the pet owner to various organizations that can provide food and financial assistance during unexpected financial instability. For example, if money is tight due to a sudden change in circumstances in the household, rather than rush to offload the pet, Frisco Pet Partners can advise and put the owner in touch with support services quickly, no questions asked, thus allowing the pet owner not to have to consider giving the pet up.
Education – Informing pet owners on how to register pets correctly, microchip them, and remaining responsible for updating that information should you change your contact or address details.
Lost and Found – Highlighting the steps a pet owner can immediately take to help locate their missing pet. Likewise, if a resident finds a stray pet, they can connect with Frisco Pet Partners to understand how to reunite them with their owners.
Donation Drives – Hosting and promoting donation drives for the shelters to fill their pantry with pet food and supplies.
Donation and Supply Pick-Up – Informing residents of all the ways they can donate supplies to local rescues or shelters. If you have a stack of blankets and old towels you want to offload, Frisco Pet Partners will arrange to pick them up and take them to shelters.
If a pet owner’s specific want or need does not fall into any of these categories, Frisco Pet Partners encourages residents to reach out and ask via their website, as they aim to provide the answer or connection pet owners need to make the lives of the residents and their pets better.
Looking to the future, the organization hopes to extend its services to cover low-cost/free veterinary services, particularly vaccinations, training resources and behavioral support, spay and neuter programs and education, and access to low-cost pet retailers and groomers.
In addition, FPP is working hard to host as many adoption events as possible to allow residents to meet adoptable pets, to raise awareness, and to help clear the shelters. Laura discovered recently that Collin County Animal Shelter took in as many as 21 dogs in one day! She uses the analogy of a bathtub to most accurately describe the current crisis and why they need to tackle the situation at the root cause.
“You can never fully drain the bathtub unless you turn the water off,” she explains. “So yes, we’re looking to create more ways and a greater capacity for people to adopt dogs, foster dogs, and get them out of the shelter. But if we don’t stop the faucet up at the top, we’re never going to dig out of this hole. And so, we’re trying to look at that three-pronged process of achieving the overall outcome to be better.”
Frisco Pet Partners cannot achieve all this work and progress alone. Chris and Laura speak highly of other rescue organizations around North Texas they partner with, including Rescue Row, Habitat 4 Paws, Carley’s Way, and Cody’s Friends Rescue, most of which are run 100% by volunteers. Some FPP board members also serve within other rescue organizations, and the connections are invaluable, particularly in crises. They all aim to pull together, particularly when shelters are at maximum capacity.
Habitat 4 Paws is a 100% foster-based, donation-supported rescue group for dogs and cats. For nearly 14 years, they have rescued pets from city and county shelters, provided full vetting, and found homes for them through their trial adoption program.
Roni Seely, the founder and vice president of Habitat 4 Paws, understands first-hand the importance of the partnership they have with Frisco Pet Partners. “We were introduced to Frisco Pet Partners through our board’s Secretary, Tammi Tysell. Being included in FPP’s events has definitely given us more exposure and strengthened our relationship with the community. We love the variety of locations for events where we get to engage with new audiences to find homes for our foster pets. The events also give us a chance to hopefully find much-needed fosters and volunteers. We are grateful for the benefits of our partnership with FPP.”
Rescue Row, a local all-volunteer dog rescue organization, is dedicated to rescuing dogs in shelters, dogs in abusive or neglectful situations, and dogs surrendered by their owners because of difficult circumstances. Following a comprehensive adoption process, the organization places dogs in loving, responsible, committed permanent homes. Lisa Penshorn, President and Founder of Rescue Row, worked most recently with FPP on a unique and fun event that allowed the rescue to introduce some of its adoptable pets to the Frisco community. “We were invited to participate in the Paws and Stripes pet festival at Frisco Freedom Fest by Frisco Pet Partners. It was a great event, and we got to show some of our adoptable pets and showcase our rescue and the work we do,” Ms. Penshorn recalled.
Another organization Frisco Pet Partners collaborates with is Carly’s Way, a non-profit named after Carly Nicole Beatty, a sophomore college student whose life was cut short while studying Veterinary Science at Texas A&M University. Carly intended to save the lives of animals, protect those without a voice, and passionately believed that every animal should have the chance to live a happy and healthy life with the love of a family.
In partnership with Frisco Pet Partners, local businessmen Donny Churchman and Jason Young kindly provided the Nack Theater in The Rail District in order for Frisco Pet Partners to host an ‘Adoptathon.’ The indoor venue meant cats could also be showcased, which is not always the case given that so many adoption events are held outside. More of these events are in the pipeline as the organization connects with local businesses to allow the use of their venue to showcase more domestic animals than just dogs.
One might conclude that there are many irresponsible pet owners in Frisco and North Texas in general, but the truth is many just need to be better educated and supported in caring for a pet while acquiring knowledge of the various services needed to solve a broader situation. Ultimately, Frisco Pet Partners seeks to prevent more animals from going to the shelter while educating residents and helping them become more responsible pet owners.
Currently, Animal Services in Frisco is run by the Frisco Police Department, but it needs a third-party operator, while the Collin County Animal Shelter remains the sole shelter in our immediate area. In the meantime, Frisco Pet Partners wants to bridge the gap in educating pet owners and supporting their needs in emergencies and challenging situations.
If 6% more people chose to adopt versus purchasing their pets, it would end the euthanization of dogs and cats in our nation’s shelters. Frisco Pet Partners’ dream and vision are for every domesticated animal in Frisco to have a healthy and happy home.
For more information and how you can support the organization, visit www.friscopetpartners.org.
Yvonne Brown is a Frisco-based freelance writer who enjoys lattes, authentic Italian food, preferably on a patio, and exploring all aspects of North Texas life with her family and friends.