As it did with many local organizations, the Bastrop County Complex Fire turned the spotlight onto the Bastrop County Animal Shelter.

In the initial hours of the blaze, the shelter’s residents were evacuated to the Bastrop Dog Park on Grady Tuck Drive. Animals picked up in and around the areas affected by the fire were cared for by the shelter or the Austin Humane Society, and offers of support poured in from around the region and the country.

Now, the non-profit support system for the shelter – the Friends of the Bastrop County Animal Shelter – is hoping to make it a little easier to make that donation, volunteer those hours or even adopt that pet, courtesy of their all-new, easier to navigate website at http://www.bcasfriends.org.

“This will help get the information out,” said Barbara Peck, a Friends volunteer who helped the shelter design the site. “Everyone’s really excited about it.”

The main upgrade, Peck says, is an easier-to-navigate adoption page, something less cumbersome than the one on the old site. Users can scroll through dozens of dogs and cats, and additional pictures and biographical information is just a click away.

The volunteer page has a similar set-up. The shelter’s volunteer needs are placed in a list, where potential applicants can scroll through and click to see just what a “Cat Room Assistant” and others are asked to do.

“People can look at and say ‘Ohh, I’d like to do that,’” Peck said.

Those who can’t volunteer, but want to help out, can donate. That aspect of the site has already proved successful.

“Apparently people are sharing this link with relatives or friends,” Peck said. “We got a donation yesterday that came all the way from Alaska.”

The Friends hope an expanded home page will give those one-time visitors from out-of-state or occasional surfers from within the county a better snapshot of what the shelter and the Friends are working on at the time. Peck says they plan to start promoting the shelter’s new spay and neuter program heavily.

Most of all, though, the website is a platform, something that can be expanded as needs arise. Peck said the Friends are in constant contact with shelter director Troy Walters.

“We’ll continue to build on it. As Troy dreams it, we’ll build it,” she said.

The Friends will host their largest fundraiser, Hearts for Paws, on Feb. 11 of next year. Anyone interested in sponsoring the event or donating items to their silent auction can contact the Friends at bcasfriends@gmail.com.