The big picture
At a Dec. 17 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners approved an agreement with animal nonprofit Houston Pets Alive for consultation services to develop a strategic plan for Fort Bend County Animal Services focused on community engagement, outreach and communication.
Houston Pets Alive will create the strategic plan after assessing the county’s animal services and its programs, with a goal of improving public trust and animal welfare, according to agenda documents.
Fort Bend County Animal Services operates a county shelter and fostering services, according to its website.
The details
According to agenda documents, the plan should address updating:
- Key performance indicators and data reporting
- Standard operating procedures and community-based field services
- Staff management, accountability and chain of command
- Volunteer and foster program opportunities
- Social media outreach
Why it matters
The plan will address the growing needs of animal welfare services as the county continues to climb to 1 million residents, according to agenda documents. It also aims to prevent overcrowding at the county’s Rosenberg shelter, increase the number of animals helped and shorten animal’s length of stays at the shelter.
As of the most recent update at the end of December, the shelter housed 142 dogs, despite having the capacity for 90 dogs, according to shelter statistics.
What they’re saying
“Internally, we do strategic planning; however, we needed focused strategic planning for community engagement and outreach as well as communications because we want to meet the needs of the community,” said Dr. Letosha Gale-Lowe, director for Fort Bend County Health and Human Services.
Looking ahead
A report is due to the county within 60 days of Houston Pets Alive completing the assessment, according to agenda documents.
Community Impact reached out to Fort Bend County to learn more about the report timeline, but the information was not returned by press time.
