HISTORY OF PVAS
Palm Valley Animal Society was founded in 1974 as the Upper Valley Humane Society (UVHS), located in McAllen, TX. The facility was turned over to UVHS by the city to carry out the functions of municipal animal control.
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In 1981, UVHS received a donation of 2.5 acres of land at 2501 W Trenton Rd in Edinburg. A subsequent purchase of 2.5 adjacent acres resulted in a total of 5 acres for the organization. Contributions from nearby communities, as well as donations from local citizens ($50,000 from Bob Sobel and $100,000 from L.L. Rowan) secured construction on the land and the facility opened in October 1983 with 56 dog runs and 60 cat kennels.
Since our inception, PVAS has grown from receiving several hundred animals a year, with 22 dog runs and 9 cat kennels, to serving 888,000 residents and more than 10,000 animals a year with 350 dog runs and 185 cat kennels. Our staff has grown from a few volunteer helpers to more than 100 trained professionals. Learn more about our programs, services, and impact here.
The evolution of animal welfare has impacted Palm Valley Animal Society (PVAS) in so many ways. From humble beginnings nearly 50 years ago, the organization grew in response to the number of homeless animals in the Rio Grande Valley. By the early 2000s, thousands of pets were coming into the shelter each year, but sadly, most were not leaving alive. By 2017, the number of homeless animals in the RGV had exploded, and PVAS was intaking more than 30,000 animals every year. Something had to give. Euthanasia wasn’t a solution that was working.
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​No-kill: The goal of ending killing in shelters
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No-kill is a benchmark created by Best Friends to help guide and focus efforts to save the lives of the pets most at risk in shelters.
For a shelter to achieve a status of no-kill, 90% of the cats and dogs coming into the shelter must be saved. This benchmark is based on the average of no more than 10% of dogs and cats entering shelters who are suffering from irreparable medical or behavioral issues that compromise their quality of life and prevent them from being rehomed.
In 2018, PVAS signed on to achieve that 90% benchmark.​ Since We are working harder than ever to save lives. Through incredible support in the community and beyond, we finished 2023 with an 85% save rate. But there’s so much more. We gave out hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to keep pets at home. We worked with more than 3,000 families to help them through the struggle of not wanting to release their pet to the shelter. We vaccinated or microchipped more than 2,700 pets in our community.
