Council to Undertake Restricting Animal Services to City Limits

City Council will entertain restricting Animal Services to San Angelo city limits under the consent agenda on Tuesday, March 16th.  Staff believes there is no need to for the public to hear discussion on the item.  Yesterday, I wrote members of Council asking the item be moved to regular session.

The Animal Shelter Advisory Committee discussed this item in their January meeting.  Health Director Sandra Villareal asked about area rescues picking up the load should the city further restrict Animal Services.  The committee heard that area rescues do not allow the Animal Shelter to give out their information as they have been overwhelmed by the rise in demand from a series of shelter changes and the last year's pandemic.

Another proposed change restricting shelter access involves Community Cats.  The ASAC was to have taken that up in February but their meeting was postponed. That item will come to council in the near future.

City Council should balance Pets Alive's repeated cuts in services to area citizens with actual community need.  It would behoove Council to hear from area rescues on items before acting.

Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden's wording in the memo does not paint an accurate picture. 

Although some programs have marginally decreased intake, more work is necessary to achieve a 90% live release rate by 9/30/21.

FY20 intake was 4,560, 3.2 times best practices. Uncontrolled intake is unmanageable for staff and programming. We do not have sufficient resources to provide a live release for these animals.

The Animal Shelter achieved a 90% live release rate for the last several months.  Intake is down from nearly 8,000 in 2016 to nearly 6,000 in 2018 to roughly 4,500 in 2020. 

The city does not have uncontrolled intake.  It has managed intake for pet owners, which does not allow for an owner to surrender their pet to the shelter for illness or death.  It has managed intake for people who bring a stray pet to the shelter. 

Funding went from $750,000 in 2015 to nearly $1 million for the 2020 budget.  Staff rose from 12 in 2015 to 16 for 2020.  

 

It is also odd that a former budget director would not make savings projections from this move.  The memo shows financial impact as "Unknown".  Surely there would be savings from not having to provide care for sick animals. 

Best practices may apply in a community where owners spay/neuter their pets, keep them well fed and watered, up to date on vaccinations and out of the elements.  They may be a disservice in our community given what the city's adoption contractor said in November 2019:

PAWS Director Jenie Wilson said "San Angelo still has a population crisis coupled with a population of irresponsible pet owners which makes it a constant struggle for the shelter and PAWS to prevent euthanasia for space.”

Best practices involve working upstream on causes and reducing the need, like spay/neuter.  It is not a best practice to lop off services in pursuit of a metric.  Kitten season looms and the next cut is in the area of community cats, a top four Pets Alive strategy for the City of San Angelo.

The memo to Council states:

We ask that animals only be allowed into our programming if residing in San Angelo city limits only.

Tom Green County communities frequently receive dumped animals, many from city residents.  County residents contribute to the city's finances via sales taxes.  

An Assistant City Manager and PAWS Executive Director do not live in San Angelo city limits. If they were to bring in a stray pet from their homes in Wall would the shelter take them?  I would venture the Shelter would. 

If someone who works in San Angelo, but does not live in city limits, finds a stray pet while commuting inside city limits, can they bring that animal to the shelter?  The animal "resides in city limits".

Council should bring the item to regular session.  Mayor Gunter is known for asking good questions.  I hope she does just that.

Update 3-16-21:  City Councilman Harry Thomas pulled the item to the regular agenda.  Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden said communities in the county are already taking care of their stray animal issue.  If that were true there would be no animals from outside of San Angelo going to the shelter and no reason to further cut intake.  Morgan said 10% or 450 pets came to the shelter last year from Tom Green County, effectively countering her previous characterization.

 

Councilperson Billie DeWitt asked about health as a reason for a citizen to give up their pet.  Morgan said the sick person would make an appointment with PAWS, foster their pet for a period of time and if not successful PAWS would take the pet, not the city's Animal Shelter.  In a round about way Morgan confirmed the shelter does not take pets from San Angelo residents suffering from major illness.

 

Council did not seem the least bit concerned over the poor working relationship with area animal service organizations.  This should be a huge red flag.  Area rescues have written off the City Shelter and understandably so.

 

They approved further restricting Animal Services by a vote of 7-0.  Local rescues will once again bear the burden.

Update 4-13-21:  Cutting community cat intake is a topic at the April 15th meeting of the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee.

Update 7-3-21:  The Animal Shelter announced it would play no role in reuniting pets lost during July 4th festivities with their owners.  Stressed animals flee from their homes due to the sound of exploding fireworks.  "Every year, there’s an influx of animal drop-offs at the shelter in the days immediately following Independence Day weekend.  The San Angelo Animal Shelter will be temporarily closed for intake from 6 p.m. today to 10 a.m. Tuesday." Concho Valley PAWS, the city's adoption contractor, reopens its rescue operations at 1 pm Wednesday.