For the third time in the last eight months Concho Valley PAWS will not be offering low cost spay neuter vouchers to the public. PAWS indicated via Facebook it would not issue vouchers in July, having missed December 2022 and January 2023. The program was relaunched in February after funding and contract agreements had been finalized.
PAWS dedicated veterinarian Dr. Victor Schulze recently left the organization. PAWS SNIP Clinic is one of four sites accepting the vouchers. It's not clear if his departure impacted the decision to not offer vouchers.
The City of San Angelo Animal Shelter contracts with PAWS for adoption and veterinary services. The shelter has a separate contract with Dr. Schulze for state mandated services. The city's website has no information about any changes in operations for shelter pets needing veterinary care.
Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden and PAWS Executive Director Jenie Wilson have assured City Council multiple times that shelter pets are being spayed/neutered.
Those assurances were called into question by a focused audit of unaltered shelter pets conducted by the City Attorney's office. The city issued citations to adopters who'd failed to spay/neuter their shelter pet. The results of that audit are yet to be presented to City Council or the public.
Pets Alive encourages shelters to be very forthcoming with information. That has not been the case with the City Animal Shelter or its adoption/veterinary service contractor Concho Valley PAWS.
City Council chose not to devote any funding to low cost spay neuter for the current fiscal year despite staff's recommendation to allocate $10,000. The Animal Shelter Advisory Committee has requested Council consider devoting funds for this purpose but that has not yet made it on the agenda.
Update 8-3-23: PAWS website currently states:
Vouchers are currently sold out. Please check back in August for availability.
Update 8-16-23: PAWS has not changed the information on their website. It still states "check back in August for availability."
Update 8-30-23: PAWS provided no information on future low cost spay/neuter opportunities for citizens in their Concho Valley Homepage article. Their website still says "check back in August." There is one day left in the month.
The story is titled from "streets to loving homes." Sadly, for some pets it's "streets to streets." San Angelo has become third world in terms of loose animals, many unaltered, and some aggressive. Councilman Tom Thompson's November 2022 direction that the shelter can cap the pet population turned a low response shelter into nearly a no response facility.
Update 9-4-23: PAWS posted on their Facebook page that SNIP vouchers would again be available come September 10th. This is the second two month period in the last nine months where PAWS provided no low cost spay/neuter vouchers. I updated this post's title with (add August).
Update 9-20-23: Concho Valley Homepage reported PAWS new facility, the Stephens Dog Dorms will open after it receives an occupancy permit. In April 2021 CVH reported:
Currently under construction is the Stephens Dog Dorms which will house adoptable dogs awaiting adoption.
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