Grayson County shifts $12,500 to cover Whitesboro dog-intake payments

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Grayson County commissioners voted 5-0 on July 14 to move $12,500 within the county's Health Department animal control budget, a shift county records connect to paying for a short-term dog-intake agreement with the City of Whitesboro. The transfer places the money in the account Grayson County uses for pound and shelter costs. The agreement lets the county pay Whitesboro to take in certain dogs from unincorporated Grayson County through the end of September.

The approved item appeared on the court's July 14 agenda as a budget line-item transfer for additional pound services. According to the county's transfer document, the change took $12,500 out of animal control salary accounts and placed it in the General Fund's pound services line. That record says the added pound expense followed a rise in the number of stray animals being collected.

A statement entered into the record at the July 14 meeting put the purpose in narrower terms. It said the transfer would move funding for the cooperation agreement between Grayson County and Whitesboro into the line where shelter costs are paid.

Commissioners had approved that agreement two weeks earlier. On June 30, the court voted 4-0 to enter an interlocal agreement with Whitesboro for canine intake, the agenda record for that meeting shows.

The agreement sets a temporary arrangement that runs from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2026. Under its terms, Grayson County reimburses Whitesboro $150 for each covered dog, with payments capped at 75 dogs or $11,250, whichever the county reaches first. Covered dogs are those taken in from unincorporated parts of Grayson County or from other areas the two governments agree to in writing.

The agreement ties the county's payments to budget appropriation. It also requires Whitesboro to send a monthly invoice, each one listing the covered dogs, the intake type, origin information, a subtotal, and a year-to-date total measured against the cap.

Grayson County's animal control page describes the county as running a limited intake system for stray dogs and cats. The same page says All American Dogs provides shelter services for county animals but does not carry out the county's animal-control work.

Handling of the work differs across the county, according to Grayson County's city-by-city contact sheet. Sherman routes animals through its own shelter. Collinsville and Tioga list All American Dog as an option. Pottsboro and Southmayd point residents to code enforcement or police. For calls inside Whitesboro's city limits, the sheet lists code enforcement or the police department.