FORT WORTH -- The city's crowded animal control center is making several changes to relieve pressure, including no longer accepting the surrender of healthy animals and letting a nonprofit take over low-cost vaccinations.
Also in the works are changing hours and reducing the minimum holding period on strays."When we built the shelter, there was capacity," said Brandon Bennett, city code compliance director. "We don't have the capacity anymore."The shelter will take in more than 25,000 animals this fiscal year, up from more than 21,000 two years ago, and is regularly at or over capacity. The changes don't cut the shelter's budget but contain it, Bennett said.The city had a long-standing policy of letting people drop off their pets for any reason. But under the new policy, "unless there was some welfare or safety risk, or some pain and suffering, you need to go out and find somebody to take this pet," Bennett said."We've made it too easy for people to just give up on their pets."Tammy Hawley, Humane Society operations director, said the policy change has resulted in more animals coming into its East Lancaster Avenue shelter in Fort Worth. Intake was up 500 in August, she said.Animal advocates worry that limited surrenders could lead owners to dump their pets, swamping nonprofits. Even though the city shelter still accepts sick animals, Hawley worried rabies could surface again."Restricting whether or not to take in animal surrenders is an avoidance of their health job," she said."What's going to happen if they can't surrender their dog?" said Brenda Silcox, member of the city's animal advisory board and wife of the late Fort Worth Councilman Chuck Silcox, an animal lover whose name is on the Fort Worth shelter.From Oct. 1 to July 31, the city shelter took in 1,012 animals from Tarrant County and seven suburban cities. The city will review what those cities pay and probably raise fees to reflect inflation and value, Bennett said.Low-cost vaccinesAlso, the city is turning over vaccinations to the Denton-based Texas Coalition for Animal Protection.Animal control's budget can't cover vaccinations, Bennett said."We started with a few hundred a year, then a few thousand, now it's 4,000," Bennett said.This week, the nonprofit ran the second of what will be regular 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday clinics at the shelter, 4900 Martin St.The group will keep the revenue but also take on the costs. Shots are $25 for a dog or cat; heartworm test, $20; and six months heartworm prevention, $25-$35.The 10-year-old TCAP runs three standalone clinics, spay and neuter programs for several cities, and vaccination clinics in the area."Our goal is to be a community service," founder Stacey Schumacher said. The shelter is open six days a week and closed Sundays.Starting the first weekend in November, the shelter will open part of the day on Sundays and reduce Monday hours. It will be open on those days only for owners to claim their animals, and for rescues on Mondays.Also, the city will launch a telephone hotline with veterinarian assistants available to answer questions.The city's partnership with PetSmart Charities Adoption Centers at 4800 Southwest Loop 820 and 2901 Texas Sage Trail makes it easier to reduce hours, Bennett said."Whenever PetSmart's open, those two adoption centers are open," he said.The city has a policy of holding strays for 72 hours before animals can be adopted out, sent to rescue organizations, or in worst cases, euthanized.Under a proposed change, which requires a council vote, for animals that come in with no ID, license, chip or rabies tag, the hold would be 24 hours for a medical release to rescue groups. For other animals, the holding period would be 48 hours when the shelter is within 10 percent of capacity and 72 hours when capacity is available.For animals with ID, license, chip or rabies tag, the hold would be 24 hours for conditional release to rescue groups; and 72 hours otherwise.The change would allow quicker processing times, Bennett said.The shelter has three tiers of animals: healthy and adoptable, unhealthy but adoptable, and unadoptable.The shelter says it hasn't euthanized a healthy adoptable animal since April 2010. The shelter estimates its overall "live release rate" - those animals not euthanized - at 70 percent.Hawley questioned the holding period change."If they shorten that time frame, they are going to miss some people," she said. "Is that the owner's responsibility? Absolutely. The animal should have been chipped, should have been registered. But the animal gets penalized."Scott Nishimura,817-390-7808Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
