Number of Dogs Euthanized by San Antonio Animal Control Increases

A collage made by people concerned about the number of dogs euthanized recently at San Antonio Animal Care Services

What’s going on at the City of San Antonio Animal Care Services? Watchdog Mary has been getting a lot of complaints about the municipal shelter euthanizing dogs. We crunched the city's numbers and found:

In September 2021, the municipal shelter killed 4% more dogs than it did in September 2020.

The numbers of dogs that came into the shelter in Sept. 2020 and Sept. 2021 was approximately the same.

The shelter killed 102 dogs in Sept. 2021. Many dogs were healthy and killed only because the shelter was full.

Why the Increase in Dogs Killed?

The whole "pandemic puppy" adoption trend is over. Families are now losing their homes. People are still unemployed and can't afford their pets. The problem is not over. It's getting worse, as these numbers show.

Animal control facilities in Texas and parts of the South are filling up. Many are euthanizing animals for space reasons. Shelters in Texas kill more dogs than any other state. Rescue groups are begging for fosters, adopters, and donations.

If you want to help, contact your local shelter or a rescue group and ask how to get involved. If you want to see how many animals your local animal control facility is euthanizing, read Watchdog Mary's How to Investigate Your Local Shelter.

Shelter warns of mass euthanization of dogs due to space reasons

Credit: Harris County Shelter. “Nono” is one of several dogs at risk of being euthanized Thursday morning.

The Harris County Shelter in Texas warns it’s out of space and can’t hold any more dogs.

In a series of desperate emails to rescue groups the county animal control agency says it’s bursting at the seams and is begging for help saving the dogs.

The Houston area facility may have to euthanize at least seven dogs Thursday morning unless someone offers to rescue, adopt or foster the animals.

This is a slideshow of the dogs that are most at risk. The shelter says many appear to be friendly and healthy. You can click and scroll to see their pictures.

One email the shelter sent out says it just can’t keep up with the massive numbers of dogs coming in.

“Harris County Animal Shelter is taking In a lot of intakes and strays dogs and we are out of room. Just today a truck picked up 10 stray dogs and brought them all to the shelter. We are asking for your help.”

The shelter says the dogs are all housed with other dogs and are great around people. If you’re interested in saving one or more of the dogs you have to act quickly.

If you can help email:  RescueMe@countypets.com or call 281-999-3191.

To see all the animals in need at the shelter you can click here. The facility does work with in and out of state rescue groups.

Clock ticking on dogs' lives seized by animal control

San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) runs one of the most crowded shelters in the country. Tens of thousands of dogs and cats pass through the facility each year. Not all make it out alive.

So when animal control has to seize several dogs at a time it pushes the already full shelter to the brink of capacity.

Today ACS announced it impounded several dogs and the clock is clicking on their lives. They need adopters, fosters and rescues to help right away. The shelter may not be able to hold the dogs past Saturday, November 30th.

The dogs are all breeds and sizes, ranging from a Lab mix, a couple of Chihuahuas, a Bichon Frise and two Australian Shepherd mixes. ACS said they appear social and friendly.

ACS said in an email:  

“We have a group of 8 adult dogs that we expect to take ownership of on 11/30.  We would like to start securing placement for them. If you are interested come to the shelter before 11/30 to interact with them. Depending on space, we may not be able to hold them past the 30th, and may not be able to allow for ‘24 hours to evaluate’ once we are past the 30th. Even if you don’t place holds, please have all evals done before the 30th. If you need to place a last minute hold it is a confirmed hold and we can proceed with surgery.”

If you can help email: ACSRESCUE-FOSTER@sanantonio.gov

Shelter Spotlight: San Jacinto County Animal Control

Narrated by Deputy Jason Snipes, San Jacinto County Texas Animal Control Officer

About fifty percent of the dogs who arrived at the tiny, outdoor San Jacinto County animal shelter in Texas last year were euthanized.

San Jacinto County animal shelter in Texas

But Deputy Jason Snipes, the county’s newly hired animal control officer, told Watchdog Mary he's trying to change that. "I’m always looking to improve," he said.

Deputy Jason Snipes, San Jacinto County Texas Animal Control Officer

In order to do that Snipes needs help: A group of critical volunteers to assist him, and the shelter, which is essentially a concrete slab with a roof, but no walls, needs major renovations or replacement. 

Dog currently in the San Jacinto County animal shelter in Texas

Snipes is the only animal control officer for the entire county, which stretches about 710 square miles and is located outside Houston.

"I have a constant list of calls," Snipes said. "I’m not only dealing with the shelter, but also animal complaints. I pick up stray dogs. I also deal with livestock. I’m one man doing everything."

Every single dog he picks up gets brought to the shelter. It's got six kennels to hold an entire county's worth of stray and unwanted dogs.

"I've had up to 25 dogs in there at one time," Snipes said. "If I pick up three or four dogs from one location, I put them in a larger cage together. If I have a mamma dog with puppies they go in one cage together." 

Dogs currently in the San Jacinto County animal shelter in Texas

The limited kennel space means as the shelter gets full, the clock starts ticking on the lives of the animals inside.   

SHELTER STATISTICS

Documents obtained by Watchdog Mary reveal in 2018, of the 210 dogs picked up by San Jacinto County animal control, 112 were euthanized.

2018 Animal Control Statistical Report

The reports from this year show some improvement. In February, of the 49 dogs picked up, eleven were euthanized.

February 2019 Statistical Report

Snipes said so far in 2019 about ten dogs were put down because the shelter was full. He hopes euthanasia due to space reasons can be avoided in the future. 

"I hit the ground running and I’ve started building a relationship with other shelters and rescues to get the dogs out of my facility," Snipes said. 

Dog at shelter currently in need of an adopter or rescue group

The county's reports don't show the numbers of dogs transferred to rescue groups. Snipes there is no data field for that in the current computer system. Any dog that is adopted or transferred to a rescue is counted under the category of adoption.

DOGS HAVE LIMITED ONLINE VISIBILITY  

Dogs that come into the shelter are not advertised on the county's website and there’s not a dedicated page for animal control.

There's no pictures or postings saying, "Did anyone lose this Lab mix?" Or, "Does anyone want to adopt or rescue this dog?"

The social media pages where dogs in need are currently posted are private Facebook groups that people have to join to see posts. Many animal experts warn if dogs don't have decent visibility online owners, adopters, and rescues don't know dogs need to be reclaimed or helped. 

Dog currently at the shelter in need of an adopter or rescue group

When Watchdog Mary asked Snipes about this he said needs volunteer assistance. "I'm not real good not the social media," he said. "I'd love to expand it, take pictures of the dogs and post them. I don't have time to maintain it. I will take any and all help I can get."

Ideally Snipes needs volunteers who live near San Jacinto County to come to the shelter and take pictures of the pooches. Then the information can be sent to volunteers anywhere in the world who can upload the information to websites and social media.

Online posts have saved the lives of countless dogs across the world.  

San Jacinto County animal shelter

SHELTER IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

Improving the current shelter or building a new facility is a big item on the sheriff department's wishlist.  

"We have a kennel, not that great of a kennel, it suffices for now," Captain Joe Schultea, Jr., operations bureau commander for the sheriff's department told Watchdog Mary. "We need a new shelter. We are working with our county attorney on fundraising right now. It's a work in progress." 

Snipes tries to keep the current shelter temperate for the dogs.  

San Jacinto County animal shelter

"The cages are not in direct sunlight. In the summer it doesn’t get excruciatingly hot," Snipes said. "In the winter I wrap the entire shelter in plastic and brought in heat lamps. On the coldest days it hasn’t been toasty warm, but I’ve been able to break the chill."

A new or renovated shelter with more kennels would allow the county to handle more animals. Snipes said he's doing the best he can with the situation he's working with.

Snipes walking a dog at the shelter

"Generally the longest I get away with keeping any dogs in the shelter is two to three weeks," he said. "Luckily this year I’ve been able to build good relationships with rescues in the area and I’d say between 80-90% of the dogs get adopted." 

If anyone is interested in volunteering to help care and photograph dogs at the shelter, helping with online posting, fundraising or renovating the shelter contact you can reach Snipes by emailing: animal.control@co.san-jacinto.tx.us or by calling: 936-524-3891. Snipes also wants to hear from rescue groups who can help save dogs from the facility.

And if you want to see how your community is handling animal control be sure to read Watchdog Mary’s "How to Investigate Your Local Shelter.”