Salas Retirement Nearing?

Big changes could be looming for the City Animal Shelter.  The upcoming retirement of Director of Neighborhood Services Bob Salas may initiate a cascade of changes.  Recently, the city contracted out its affordable housing program to Galilee Development.  The Shelter could be next.

Concho Valley PAWS Executive Director Jenie Wilson met with Morgan in June to talk about an arrangement where PAWS might take over more shelter operations.  The pair traveled to Abilene to view their shelter which underwent similar changes.  

Morgan wanted to know if PAWS was interested in taking over the shelter and Animal Control under a contract arrangement.  Wilson wanted to explore it further after the city renovated the shelter.  That project, funding approved in March 2023, is yet to be put out for construction bids.  

City management has long wanted to dump the shelter onto a community organization.  It seems a poor fit for an area animal rescue organization to enforce city ordinances, deal with animal bites (that have soared since City Council put a hard cap on the dog population), conduct rabies quarantines, as well as handle loose and abused livestock.  Picking up dead animals seems particularly odious for an area rescue.

Bob will be gone soon if reports of his retirement are correct.  I recall his promise that "fewer strays would be in the streets" with the mandatory spay/neuter ordinance.  

Instead, San Angelo has third world levels of loose animals, requiring City Council members to repeatedly intervene on constituents' behalf to get service from Animal Services.  

Morgan will likely be promoted to the top job.  Let's hope it doesn't turn into a contractor oversight position.  The City has lots of work to do making amends for releasing thousands of unaltered animals, turning the shelter into a long term facility for large dogs, failing to enforce city ordinances and making the shelter inaccessible to citizens needing to surrender their pet.

It took years of Pets Alive and Best Friends Animal Society strategies to populate San Angelo city streets with strays.  It will take years to reverse the damage.  I'm not sure the person who helped create the problem is the best one to address it.