While Harris County looks to open a new, larger shelter by the end of 2019, Harris and Montgomery county shelters claim to have increased their live-release rates—the number of animals leaving the shelter via adoption, transports or claimed by owners—since 2010, according to data self-reported by the shelters.
“We’ve increased our adoptions for one thing,” said Michael White, director of Harris County Veterinary Public Health. “We’ve increased the number of animals we’re getting into foster homes, so we can get them out of the shelter. … And we’ve increased our transport as well [to other states].”
However, two officials with the Montgomery County Animal Shelter are under criminal investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for reportedly euthanizing 78 animals outside established procedures, according to a Sept. 20 statement from the MCSO.
Like Harris County, MCAS is also working to boost adoption efforts. Additionally, nonprofit organization Abandoned Animal Rescue relocated its shelter facility from Tomball to Magnolia earlier this year, providing better accommodations and a larger shelter, AAR board member Karen Pitcock said.
“Part of it is to take in more animals, [but] the biggest part is to have better accommodations for the dogs and cats,” Pitcock said.
Montgomery County
As the cities of Tomball and Magnolia do not have animal shelters, officials with the city police departments said the cities contract with the counties for animal control services. However, the two county shelters are struggling with capacity issues, officials said.
According to self-reported data, MCAS housed 900 animals in July while only having 545 kennels at the facility.
In addition to a large number of animals needing shelter, MCAS has faced director turnover and space, staffing and funding shortages as well as an ongoing improper euthanasia investigation.
The MCSO launched an investigation of the county shelter Aug. 24 after MCAS Chief Veterinarian Jordan Gentry reported to the sheriff’s office that 78 animals voluntarily surrendered by an owner were euthanized outside of established procedures upon arriving at the shelter Aug. 20, according to a statement. MCSO officials have not stated which procedures were not followed.
“It would be disturbing (if true) that the multitude of animals brought in from a hoarding case were not seen by the vet before [euthanasia] or if a plea was not put out to rescues,” said Laura McConnell, president of the Lone Star Animal Welfare League, in an email.
McConnell said the nonprofit has worked with MCAS in the past. As the investigation is ongoing, two MCAS employees—including shelter Director Aaron Johnson—have been placed on paid leave, according to a Sept. 19 announcement from Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack’s office. Precinct 3 officials said Noack currently has oversight of the shelter. Johnson is the shelter’s fourth director since 2016.
MCAS has also grappled with funding shortages in recent years.
The shelter had a $3.57 million budget for fiscal year 2017-18, about $600,000 less than requested from the county, Johnson said in a July 17 interview prior to going on paid leave.
The shelter requested $4.2 million for FY 2018-19 for wage increases and new positions, Johnson said in July. However, county commissioners approved the FY 2018-19 budget on Sept. 5 with $3.7 million allotted for the animal shelter, according to budget documents.
Staffing shortages caused by limited funding have affected the shelter’s ability to provide care to the more than 14,000 animals it takes in per year, Johnson said in July. Due to high intake numbers, it often has two dogs per kennel.
Harris County, nonprofit work
The Harris County Animal Shelter can handle 12,000 animals each year, White said. However, the shelter housed about 18,000 animals in 2017 with a similar number expected this year, he said.
“When we get more than 150 animals total, we start reaching our capacity,” he said. “Now we are handling 18,000-plus [animals annually], but we are holding them much longer, which means we have more in the shelter at a time.”
White said the shelter currently cares for about 280 dogs and 200 cats. However, he said he anticipates the county’s new shelter—opening behind the existing facility on Canino Road, Houston, in late 2019—will increase capacity to 315 dogs and 210 cats.
“It’s too many animals for the space that we have. We try to cut it off at 150 dogs and 100 cats, but we haven’t been able to do that,” he said. “Some of our runs, we will have four or five dogs in a run, which to me is totally unacceptable, but the only alternative we have is to euthanize.”
The new shelter is funded by a $24 million bond referendum that was approved by voters in 2015. White said preconstruction work at the site has delayed the opening of the new facility.
While AAR is a limited intake shelter, Pitcock said the organization tries to keep its kennels full, totaling about 54 dogs and 24 cats. Additional animals are in foster homes or on the waitlist for care. Still, the shelter averages about 500 total adoptions each year.
“We need more volunteers before we can take in any more animals or we can add onto that [space],” Pitcock said.
A pet population problem
Obtained prior to the investigation, MCAS data shows Magnolia ZIP codes 77354 and 77355 repeatedly among the highest animal intake areas for the shelter from 2013-17, accounting for about 13 percent of MCAS’ total annual intake during that time, according to self-reported shelter data.
“Definitely we’ve had more [pickups] in west [Montgomery] County, which is Magnolia, Pinehurst, Stagecoach and Montgomery,” said Joe Guidry, Montgomery County Animal Control director.
Johnson said in July that he believes the large number of homeless animals is tied to a growing residential population, the geography of the area and socio-economics as well as the lack of animals being spayed or neutered.
Pitcock said AAR receives about 30-40 inquiries each day about sheltering pets. However, with limited funds and space, the shelter must refer clients to the county shelters.
“We’re listed as a no-kill shelter, but a better word for that is limited intake. We only have so much space for the dogs and cats,” she said.
Upon relocating to its new facility, AAR partnered with Texas Litter Control to provide low-cost spay-neuter services to the Tomball and Magnolia communities, Pitcock said.
“The problem here is definitely really bad. Something’s got to give,” she said.
One local entity, Saving Grace Animal Medical Center, is anticipated to launch a full-service mobile animal clinic in October, servicing about a 30-mile radius from Hockley to the Magnolia area, owner Grace Lewis said.
“We have a pet population issue, and it falls on the responsibility of the owners of the animal,” Lewis said. “That’s where the problem lies is that we have all this overpopulation. We have all these people who want to do good, but they can’t because they don’t have the funds, and there’s more animals than people to adopt them.”
New initiatives
Both county animal shelters have implemented initiatives in recent years to reach “no-kill” status, a designation that is achieved when shelters have live-release rates of 90 percent or higher.
While increasing its number of adoptions, foster homes, transports and efforts to lower the number of animals given up by their owners, Harris County has increased its live-release rate from 15.1 percent in 2010 to 90.3 percent in the first eight months of 2018, White said. According to self-reported data, MCAS officials claim to have increased the shelter’s live-release rate from 43.9 percent in 2010 to 92.6 percent in 2017.
MCAS received approval from commissioners in May 2016 to launch a community cat program to decrease the number of stray, free-roaming or feral cats arriving at MCAS by humanely trapping, neutering, vaccinating, removing the ear tip and returning cats to their original locations.
Since implementing the program, MCAS officials reported that 20 percent of cats that entered the shelter in 2017 were returned into the county as community cats. In 2018 so far, more than 35 percent of cats have been returned, the shelter claims.
White said Harris County started a similar program this year, increasing the number of cats released alive.
“Prior to that, there was hardly any way to get cats out of here alive. People just don’t adopt cats very often,” he said.
Additionally, MCAS plans to soon bring a 38-foot trailer to the Magnolia area, which will provide off-site adoptions, free or low-cost spay-neuter services, and other medical care for animals by reducing cost and transportation barriers, Johnson said in July. The trailer is funded by a grant from the Petco Foundation.
“For people who are surrendering because they can’t afford medical care ... spay-neuter [services], or food or vaccinations, if we can offer those things to them or provide some way for them to get that, it will prevent them from sheltering,” White said.
Additional reporting by Wendy Cawthon and Zac Ezzone
