AmeriStor Self Storage in Killeen, Texas, hosted local residents and their four-legged friends for some holiday shopping on Saturday during an event designed to benefit Emancipet, an organization launched in 1999 to make spay/neuter services and preventive veterinary care affordable and accessible to all pet owners. Based in Austin, Texas, the group provides a statewide network of low-cost clinics as well as training and support for other clinics. It opened a permanent clinic in Killeen earlier this year.

The “Santa Paws Holiday Market” featured more than 20 vendors selling arts and crafts, baked goods, jewelry, stylish pet collars, and more. Funds raised at the market will help Emancipet in its mission to offer pet-related services at a low cost including spaying, neutering, microchipping and preventive veterinary care.

“We try to provide that service to the community, believing that everybody in their heart would love to take care of their pet ... If we can make it affordable, we think more people will come and be able to provide for their pets the way that they would want to,” said Emancipet Branch Manager Madeleine Nunez.

Hosting the event is a way for AmeriStor to get actively involved in the community, according to Scott Sterling, one of the facility owners. “The whole concept of spay and neuter is really the way to curb (stray animals) ... I really believe in the mission of controlling the population in a humane way; that way, you don’t have kill shelters. You have to address it up front,” Sterling told the source.

Representatives from the municipal animal shelters in Fort Hood, Harker Heights and Killeen, as well as from local rescue centers, brought several animals to the event in the hopes of finding them adoptive families.

“Lots of people love considering pets as a gift for the holidays, and we hope to provide a forever-home opportunity for some of these shelter animals,” said Grazyna Musick, community director of Killeen Emancipet.

AmeriStor Self Storage at 2010 E. Elms Road is a privately owned business offering access-controlled gates, climate control, 24-hour video surveillance, packing and moving supplies, and other amenities. The facility is a member of the Texas Self Storage Association, according to its website.

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