On Saturday, August 2, Dallas Animal Services, the city's municipal animal shelter, announced that it would no longer accept dogs from the public due to an outbreak at the shelter of Canine Distemper Virus, a contagious and often fatal viral disease that affects dogs.

The city is now a month into the Distemper outbreak and the shelter remains closed to all but sick, injured, and dangerous dogs and cats. According to DAS director Paul Ramon, the continued closure is to enable them to get a handle on the distemper situation.

But that means that animals and sympathetic citizens trying to do the right thing are left to fend for themselves.

It also means that, with a month to go in the fiscal year, DAS was closed for 3 months or 25 percent of the year for healthy stray dogs.

Budget requests
Meanwhile, the Dallas city manager and DAS are requesting an increase in the annual operating budget by $2 million.The reason given is to support DAS' role in Suspected Animal Cruelty aka SAC cases. Assistant Director Victoria Bennett stated that it was because they have to do more for SAC animals, and that their length of stay was longer than most animals in DAS’ care.

However, figures from the shelter's data management system show that is not true: In the period from March 1-August 23, there were 1,753 animals impounded due to Suspected Cruelty. Of those 1,601, or 91 percent, were chickens. Chickens are not housed at the shelter and as the data shows, they either died or were euthanized, typically within a day.

Of the remaining Suspected Animal Cruelty animals, there were 55 cats, 88 dogs, 9 horses, and a turtle. Those animals that actually came to the shelter, on average, did not have a longer stay than other dogs and cats.

A better use for the money would be to offer free spay and neuter surgeries.

According to shelter data, most stray animals — 80 to 90 percent — are not altered per city code. The unaltered animals we’re leaving in the streets today are making more dogs and cats, which compounds the problem for the city.

The problem is currently being shouldered by volunteers: rescues, fosters, neighborhoods. But rescues are full, fosters are overwhelmed, and the cost of living makes it increasingly difficult for people to keep their current pets, much less adopt more.

Allocating funds for free spay and neuter surgeries would be money better spent. And getting loose animals off the street by reopening the shelter is the first step.
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Karen Brophy is a long-time animal welfare advocate and foster for Dallas Animal Services.