Animal control, euthanization efforts struggle to keep pace

SAN BENITO — Cameron County’s animal control program cannot keep up with the population explosion of stray dogs and cats in rural areas, officials say.

Most dogs or cats picked up by a county animal control officer will be euthanized within 72 hours, county officials say.

Harlingen businessman Dial Dunkin, who went looking for a lost dog with a friend recently, said he was shocked to see dozens of dogs awaiting euthanization.

When he saw the high number of dogs confined in small cages at the county shelter, he felt sick, Dunkin said.

"The cages are full of really nice dogs," Dunkin said. "I’m really upset, I’ve been up all night."

Something must be done to stretch out the time an animal is held for owners to retrieve them, or for the animal to have a chance to be adopted, Dunkin said.

He did not know the shelter exists or where it is located, Dunkin said. He said he doubts many other people know they should check there for their lost pet, as well as at city shelters.

He wants to donate a video camera and equipment so that every dog picked up by a county animal control officer can be photographed, he said. Then the photos should be posted on the Cameron County website so people can look for the pets or select one to adopt, Dunkin said.

"I’ll pay for it," he said. "If that’s what it takes, I’ll buy the food so they can keep them longer."

Luckily, he and his friend did find the dog they were looking for, Dunkin said.

"We went to the vet and the county animal control officer brought it there and we paid for the shots, we got the tags and got him a new collar and we took him home," he said.

But many other lost dogs are not so lucky, said Cameron County Health Administrator Yvette Salinas. She oversees the animal control department.

"It’s really a sad story, but there are a lot more dogs than there are responsible pet owners," she said. "A lot of the dogs we receive or pick up are given by people who don’t want them anymore, or can’t take care of them anymore."

Many dogs picked up by animal control officers got loose or were abandoned by their owners and are in bad condition with injuries or have diseases such as mange when they are brought to the shelter, she said.

Those dogs are euthanized soon after they are examined because they can’t be allowed to suffer, she said. Most are euthanized within 72 hours of arriving at the shelter.

A nearby incinerator is used to dispose of the euthanized animals.

"If a dog looks like it is a pet, like it’s been well kept, we’ll keep it longer," Salinas said.

Animals are examined to see if they have identification tags or implanted microchips in hope of finding their owner, she said.

The county does have a program to put dogs up for adoption if they are healthy and not aggressive, Salinas said.

But having enough food for the animals is not the reason they can’t keep them longer, she said. Local stores are very generous and donate all the pet food the shelter can possibly use, Salinas said. She says the shelter is way too small to house animals for longer than 72 hours.

Salinas and Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos on Thursday refused to allow a Valley Morning Star photographer to enter the animal shelter to take photographs, citing a Health and Human Services Department policy. County officials have allowed photographs to be taken in the past.

Cascos said he has asked the county legal department to research whether the policy against the public in general or news media from entering the shelter has ever been voted on by the Commissioners Court.

Cascos said the main problem is the county needs a whole new animal shelter, which would cost at least $500,000.

The shelter was built in 1985 and has seven general population kennels and three quarantine kennels, a county report states.

Additional kennels are needed but the septic system cannot be expanded, the report states.

A euthanization room is needed because that is now being done in a semi-open area, the report states.

A rabies control room is also needed to collect specimens in a laboratory area rather than in a semi-open area, the report states.

Visitors cannot inspect animals in their kennels because euthanizations are conducted there, Salinas said.

Lavice Laney, who led a 2004 Brownsville chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigation of the county shelter, said she isn’t surprised that Dunkin was upset by his visit.

"Somebody needs to get mad and stay mad," she said of conditions at the county’s overcrowded facility.

There is no question the county needs to build a much larger and better shelter, Laney said.

She said Salinas wants to do more, but can’t

"She’s interested, she cares," Laney said of Salinas.

But having only a small shelter in an industrial setting in the back of the Precinct 3 county shop, and only three animal control officers for such a vast county, is unacceptable, Laney said.

A few improvements have been made since she and other SPCA members confronted county commissioners at a 2004 meeting at the courthouse, showing many photos of the horrendous conditions at the shelter, she said.

Since then, the addition of a small office and a restroom at the shelter, as well as construction of a small exercise yard, have been completed, but conditions are still very bad, she said.

A few animal rescue groups have been allowed to take dogs and cats out of the shelter for adoption, but the ceaseless euthanization and incineration of animals continues, she said.

Precinct 3 Commissioner David Garza said the county not only has to patrol many miles of rural areas for stray animals, but also helps out small towns that have no animal control program at all.

"Too many dogs are brought in having absolutely no ID," Garza said. "There are too many irresponsible pet owners."

Cascos said he welcomes any suggestions by Dunkin and would like to meet with him about the stray and abandoned animal problem.

"We’ll listen," Cascos said. "But there are leash laws and we have to pick them up and, unfortunately, if they aren’t adopted, we have to euthanize them."

When the county recently approved a bond issue program to pay for several building construction projects, maybe a new animal shelter should have been included, Cascos said. But funds are tight for all county needs, he said.

"If Mr. Dunkin wants to discuss it with us, it would be great to have a philanthropist to help us raise $500,000 for a new shelter," Cascos said. "The county’s open to suggestions."

The animal shelter would have to be moved to an entirely different site to be replaced or expanded, he said.

The county owns plenty of land near the county jail and sheriff’s office on Old Alice Road near Olmito, Cascos said.