"More Dogs on the Street than Ever"

City Councilman Harry Thomas noted "there are more dogs on the streets than there's ever been" during the January 16th Council meeting.

Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden update Council on national vs. local trends in animal services.

Nationally, shelters took on more pets.  Locally it was less.  City Council did not seem concerned that any increases in need were borne by the community, not the Animal Shelter.

Adoptions fell 1% nationally but were down nearly 50% locally.  

Chegwidden reported that 35 dogs were dumped at the shelter over the last quarter.

Public safety decreased locally with animal to people bites up 56%.  Local veterinarians report increased dog on dog attacks.  

San Angelo's legions of loose dogs should remain given the Animal Shelter's policies.  The shelter is not a resource for citizens needing to surrender their pet.  "Moving to assisted living" is not a reason for the shelter to accept a pet under managed intake.

There is no strategy to ensure "community sheltered" pets are spayed/neutered or microchipped.  City staff promised Council at the adoption of the spay/neuter ordinance:

The Councilman's "more dogs on the street than ever" comment indicates Mr. Salas and the city have missed their mark.  

Changes have been driven by Pets Alive and Best Friends Animal Society.  Both groups prioritize "life saving" care for pets inside shelters.  Their models do not prioritize mandatory spay/neuter, a local city ordinance.  City statistics indicated the shelter is occupied by large dogs, mostly Pit mixes, and those dogs have resided in the shelter for a long time.  

In November 2022 City Council approved a hard maximum capacity for the Animal Shelter.  That meant more pets would be "sheltered" in the community.  

Loose, unaltered dogs create problems, which impact public safety.  Councilman Tom Thompson indicated his wife had been bitten by an unrestrained, uncontained dog in the January 16th meeting.

City Council held a Strategic Planning session yesterday where public safety received significant attention.  The Animal Shelter got no mention but Council cited "public feedback" several times.

Citizens need to contact City Council representatives with concerns about animal issues.  It's the only way elected officials can get an accurate picture of how Animal Services is serving or not serving the community.  Staff has a less than stellar track record in that regard.

Update:  The slide below shows Pets Alive's expectations for San Angelo.  

Staff got there, only a year later than predicted.  Choking off intake filled our streets.

Update 1-31-24:  The City will hold a public meeting on streets tomorrow evening from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.  Contrast this with the requested meeting after the August 2023 strategic planning meeting when the public learned about dog attacks and the well attended October 2023 ASAC meeting (which was cancelled due to lack of quorum when a quorum actually existed).  

The public asked for a Town Hall type meeting on the Animal Shelter and remains puzzled by the City's failure to fulfill this basic wish.

The shelter will euthanize 16 dogs if they are not adopted by Saturday, February 3rd.  City Council meets again on Tuesday, February 6th.  San Angelo Live ran a piece on this but no information exists on the City's news feed, nor is it on the Animal Services webpage.  Live's piece refers interested adopters to "contact Jen at jen@cvpaws.org as soon as possible."  

Update 2-3-24:  The public meeting on streets is not on the city's YouTube channel.  The city's press release said it would be livestreamed.   There is no livestream or edited recording to view.

Update 2-14-24:  The public meeting on streets video is on the city's YouTube site.  The audience was four citizens.