Lazy 3 Animal Care

The Corinne T. Smith Animal Center was created in Brown County in 1974 and was originally called the Brown County Humane Society. The first shelter was built in 1975 and was located at 3016 Milam Drive. We haven't changed our location, but we changed the name of the shelter in 2006 to honor Corinne T. Smith. She was one of the original organizers of the Humane Society in Brown County and she was the director for almost thirty years. She dedicated her life to the animals and the shelter. We felt that due to all her hard work and dedication, it would be an honor to name the shelter after her memory.

The following statement, from Corinne. T. Smith's obituary, posted on September 5, 2005, is reprinted from the Brownwood Bulletin:

"Corinne T. Smith"Corinne was born on Oct. 24, 1921, in Pine Bluff, was named Brownwood's Woman of the Year in 1991, was a member of the Union Presbyterian Church and served on various PTA committees as well as the Women's Auxiliary at Brownwood Regional Medical Center.

"Corinne's life passion was all creatures great and small. She took the extra time and effort necessary to help any and all animals in need, never shying away from going the extra mile to make things happen. She was instrumental in the founding of the Brown County Humane Shelter. She worked tirelessly and selflessly to make her vision of helping orphaned animals a reality and continued to do so even from her hospital bed at the end of her time with us on earth.

"Corinne was an incredible blessing to her entire family who are forever thankful for the many lessons she taught by example: Strength and courage of convictions, a generous capacity for forgiveness, and a desire to leave the world a better place.

"Her legacy of unparalleled compassion, leadership and fortitude in the face of adversity, regarding both people and animals in need, will be sorely missed, setting the bar high for those who follow in her footsteps."

Corinne T. Smith's spirit is still an inspiration to the staff and the animal lovers of Brown County, TX, and it was a privilege to name the shelter after her. Another reason for the name change was that the original name fostered many misconceptions about the shelter, mainly that we are a county office or supported by Brown County. This common idea is not true. In comparison to other municipalities, the county gives us the least support per animal that they bring into the shelter.

Another common misconception associated with being called a "humane society" was that we were somehow affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Although this organization does many important things, funding local shelters is not one of them. Therefore, many people mistakenly believe that when they donate to the HSUS, they are helping the local shelter. Although we did receive a grant in 2006 from the HSUS for a new program, that was the first time we had ever had any support from that organization.

The final reason for the name change was to reflect our changing vision. We are working hard to become an Animal Center - a place that people come to enjoy life, not just look for a pet. Although pet adoption is still a crucial part of our program, our transition to an Animal Center means developing programs that provide education, support and recreation for animal lovers in Brown County.

In 2006, along with the name change, we decided to expand the shelter. With funding from the city and volunteers, a 3,600 square foot building was erected to house more kennels and pet facilities. The construction was completed in 2009, and our adoption numbers continue to grow as we expand our operations and our vision.