PAWS Political Power Play

Concho Valley PAWS is mobilizing supporters to challenge the City of San Angelo's recent changes to Animal Service operations.  PAWS serves as the shelter's adoption coordinator and veterinary service provider.  The City has frequently deferred to PAWS as its voice on animal issues.  PAWS was present and working as the shelter deteriorated into disturbing unsanitary and overcrowded conditions.

San Angelo's City Council should have at least three questions on their mind.  How were conditions allowed to get so horrific under shelter leadership?  How can this be prevented in the future?  What can Council do to ensure public trust in Animal Services?

Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden said this summer's overcrowding was primarily the result of litters.  How were pregnant pets allowed to deliver litters in the Animal Shelter?  PAWS recently wrote:

"PAWS employs a licensed veterinarian to spay and neuter all shelter pets upon adoption."

An unaltered Husky gave birth to seven puppies on her third stay in the Animal Shelter.  The shelter and PAWS had two months to conduct spay/neuter surgery before the dog gave birth in June.

 

The City and PAWS have long been less than forthcoming in information about fixing shelter pets as required by city ordinance.  That continues:

 

When asked which veterinarians fix shelter pets the city responded adopters "are told the date, time and location to report for their pet's surgery."  PAWS does not have which vets accept their spay/neuter vouchers on their website and did not respond to several inquiries for that information.

 

If PAWS wanted to push spay/neuter why letters to City Council, free yard signs and $10 t-shirts?   Why not make information on PAWS spay/neuter services widely available to the public?  PAWS has a new surgery suite with the city's former veterinary services equipment.  Why not show City Council all it has done to alleviate shelter overcrowding by fixing pregnant pets in shelter care?  

It's the city's job to manage, to hold people accountable.  It's City Council's to provide the strategic focus.  

 

Council had an opportunity to revisit the Shelter's pursuit of Pets Alive strategies which resulted in choking off intake such that some people had no choice but to dump their animal, regularly releasing unaltered animals from the shelter, holding large dogs for years in cages, not holding citizens accountable for failure to spay/neuter their pet as required by ordinance, not fixing pregnant pets in shelter care and shifting the public animal response burden to SAPD.  Council passed on that and now must deal with a public outraged by the shelter's and PAWS horrific treatment of animals in their care. 

Update 9-19-22:  The latest spay/neuter shelter compliance data PAWS shared with the ASAC indicated 34% of shelter pets were spayed/neutered by partnering veterinary clinics.  

 

After asking which locations shelter animal adopters have been instructed to take their pet by PAWS the city responded:

 "The vast majority of shelter pets are spayed/neutered through Concho Valley PAWS at their facility.  In the rare circumstance a pet is adopted out on an unaltered contract, they are notified of the date/time to deliver/pick up the animal at PAWS clinic.  It is a rare time indeed PAWS directs an adopter to a private vet clinic.  I cannot recall the last time that happened."

Update 9-23-22:  San Angelo Live reported the impact of Pets Alive choking off shelter intake and not prioritizing spay/neuter services:

Valenzuela said the number of pets abandoned inside the city limits has greatly increased over the past year.

Update 10-21-22:   The city and PAWS made up paving the way for PAWS to continue as the voice of the city animal shelter.  Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden informed the ASAC yesterday her shelter released 671 unaltered dogs to their owner/guardian in FY 21-22.

Update 1-2-23:  Concho Valley Homepage selected the Animal Shelter as a top story for 2022.  It reads like PAWS wrote it.  

Neither the city or PAWS accepted responsibility for prioritizing large, long stay dogs over tax paying citizen needs, as well as releasing 1,500 unaltered dogs from the shelter in the last two years and not enforcing the mandatory spay/neuter ordinance since its adoption.  There has been no willingness to examine the disastrous Pets Alive strategies, which operationally remain in place. The rest of the animal rescue community washed its hands of the city shelter.  Citizens and SAPD have no belief that Animal Services wants to assist pets in need, outside a shelter mostly filled with unadoptable dogs.