Few Breeder's Permits Issued by City of San Angelo

San Angelo residents are confused by the large numbers of puppies contributing to Animal Shelter overcrowding given the city adopted a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance in 2015.  At the time Council included a requirement that citizens obtain a breeders' permit in order for their pet to reproduce. 

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals weighed in the recent shelter crisis.  Their statement included:

PETA points out that while the shelter is turning animals away, anyone who pays a nominal fee can circumvent the city’s spay/neuter law and breed animals, inevitably adding to the flood of homeless ones.

PETA does not know that most of the puppies and kittens came from people who did not pay a nominal fee via the purchase of a breeder's permit.  Over a seven year period the city issued 16 breeder's permits.

PETA is unaware that the shelter does not have to comply with city ordinances.  The Animal Shelter released nearly 1,500 unaltered pets over the last two fiscal years.  It holds unaltered dogs for years, even allowing pregnant dogs to deliver in the shelter.  

Veterinary services contractor Concho Valley PAWS had two months to perform spay/neuter surgery and prevent the June birth of seven puppies into a shelter with endemic parvo.  They failed to do so.

PETA noted:

Astonishingly, residents are reportedly now being asked to house stray animals for the city, a plan that’s dangerous for animals and residents alike when untrained laypeople try to do the job of trained animal care and control professionals. 

This is ancient history under Pets Alive.  The shelter began choking off intake in 2019 and that hold got tighter and tighter until the shelter stopped taking dogs altogether.

The Animal Shelter has been full of large, long stay dogs.  The city has prioritized difficult to adopt dogs over service to citizens under Pets Alive.  City Council endorsed shelter operations, even through a poisoning event that involved adoption contractor Concho Valley PAWS publicly pleading for volunteers to clean shelter cages.  Council continues to support leadership that steered the shelter into horrific hoarding conditions amid a roach infestation.  

San Angelo residents don't care for outside groups telling them what to do.  That said, there are plenty of residents deeply concerned about the fencing off of Animal Shelter intake and the abject failure of Animal Services to enforce spay/neuter requirements and make the shelter "bad citizen" proof regarding spay/neuter.  Council is yet to listen to locals with statistics, facts and testimony.  They won't give PETA the time of day.

What will get Council's attention is an incident with a connected member of the community or an area employer.  It's a matter of time before that happens.