In the city’s ongoing struggle to mitigate its large population of stray and roaming animals, San Antonio’s Animal Care Services (ACS) department has long said it couldn’t spay or neuter dogs picked up off the street because of state property laws.
That could soon change after a policy review by the city attorney — potentially aligning San Antonio with other Texas cities that already require animals leaving the shelter to be fixed.
“If what they want to do is pass an ordinance that says all animals that are picked up will be spayed and neutered before they’re released, there are already several cities that do that. Dallas does it,” said Randy Turner, a Fort Worth attorney who specializes in animal law. “In order for you to get your pet back … you have to pay a sterilization fee because they sterilize your dog.”
Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) said Thursday she was frustrated that council members for years had been told such a policy wasn’t possible under Texas law.
San Antonio’s approach was based on “concern that owners would complain [the dog] was property and that there would be potential legal fights,” City Attorney Andy Segovia said in an interview. After further review of the law, he said, “we cleared it up that yes … we can” spay and neuter owned animals.
Even with the new legal interpretation, ACS is miles away from having the capacity to spay or neuter every dog that comes through its doors.
Money to build a new animal hospital next to the city’s shelter was approved in the 2022 bond, but construction hasn’t started yet. The city does have a trap, neuter, release program for feral cats, but dogs picked up off the street are typically released back to their owners with a citation and a requirement that they’re sterilized within 30 days.
“If you see a citation from ACS … it does clearly state that this dog or cat needs to be fixed within 30 days or you can face up to a $2,000 fine,” said Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), whose pushing prompted the city attorney’s new interpretation of the law. “That hasn’t changed. But how is this enforcement happening? That leaves a lot to be desired.”
Unclaimed dogs released to animal rescue groups are supposed to be sterilized by the rescue group, though a recent city audit found that also wasn’t always happening.
“Obviously there’s going to be some operational things that ACS will need to catch up on in terms of hiring vets to do the spaying and neutering,” said Alderete Gavito.
“But that’s stuff we can figure out. That’s tactical, logistical stuff. We’re tackling the policy.”
Setting bigger goals
City Council has become increasingly hands-on with ACS policy after the department received a dramatic funding increase in last fall’s budget.
This month Alderete Gavito filed a wide-ranging Council Consideration Request (CCR) calling for “comprehensive safety measures for loose and dangerous dogs,” including sterilizing loose dogs, higher penalties for owners of unrestrained animals and new protections for people who report dangerous dogs.
It has the support of council members Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Manny Pelaez (D8), Marc Whyte (D10) and Cabello Havrda.
“I’m not here to point fingers or say what we did wrong,” said Alderete Gavito, whose background is in operational management. “But the policies that were set in 2014, or 2019, or whenever, are not working today.”
ACS spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said the department doesn’t comment on “pending council action.”
Director Shannon Sims, who said he plans to retire this summer, told the San Antonio Report late last year that one of his parting goals was leaving the department with a strategic plan for the future.
That plan has been approved, and department leaders have been cheering their progress in recent months, but City Council members say not enough progress has been made on some of the high-priority projects.
Last month Shannon Oster-Gabrielson, assistant to the director, fielded questions from the council’s Public Safety Committee, whose members said they were disappointed to learn the new community spay/neuter clinics they funded in last year’s budget were not close to opening.
At a city budget planning meeting last week, McKee-Rodriguez said still far more ambitious goals are needed to satisfy residents’ concerns.
“It’s top of mind for almost every one of my constituents,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “They feel like they can’t walk to their mailbox” because of stray dogs.
The most recent study of stray animals in the city, conducted in 2019, estimated 35,000 dogs were roaming the streets.
“My number one priority is ACS’ capacity to increase spay, neuter and adoptions, and to address not just dangerous dogs, all stray dogs,” said McKee-Rodriguez.
The public expects the city to pick up stray animals when they’re found on the street, but ACS doesn’t do that, he said. If someone calls to report a stray dog, it could take weeks for the department to find space for the animal in its shelter.
A new leader
The city is interviewing applicants for ACS director, according to the Human Resources Department.
Amid a string of high-profile dog maulings, the department has generated so much interest from the public and animal rights activists that City Manager Erik Walsh and Krystal Strong, deputy director of human resources, attended an ACS Advisory Board meeting this year to address concerns about their plans to fill the position, including hiring a recruiter to conduct a national search.
Two current ACS employees, Oster-Gabrielson and Chief Operations Officer Bethany Colonnese, applied for the role, along with candidates from across the country. Last year Colonnese clashed with a shelter consultant that animal rescue nonprofit Petco Love sponsored to improve the city’s sinking live release rate.
