(TX - US) Doomed to die? San Antonio #1 city in Texas in killing dogs and cats

[Snugglezzz at aol.com]

Doomed to die?  
    
By Scott Huddleston     
San Antonio Express-News    
    
Web Posted : 05/30/2003 12:00 AM    
    
Imagine a city where no dogs or cats have to be put to death.> A mature yellow 
lab looks up from his pen at the city-run San Antonio Animal Care Facility 
J. Michael Short/Special to the Express-News    

That vision is unlikely for San Antonio's near future, according to a new 
public service video in English and Spanish that labels the city "No. 1 in 
euthanizing dogs and cats" in Texas.The spot, which has begun airing on 
Spanish-language station KWEX-TV and soon will air on other local stations, is based on 
figures showing the San Antonio area leading the Dallas and Houston areas in 
euthanasias per capita. The spot is one of two released by the Humane Society of 
Bexar County.The ad's claim of San Antonio being "No. 1" for euthanasias is 
based on 2001 figures for Bexar and Comal counties combined. The figures show 
that more dogs and cats were destroyed per 1,000 residents in this area compared 
to Houston and Dallas. Euthanasia figures were compiled from animal shelters 
by the statewide Spay-Neuter Assistance Program, which offers low-cost 
pet-sterilization services in the three largest Texas cities.Even though public and 
private shelters have no state or federal reporting standards to make those 
figures available, all but one shelter, a private facility in Houston, 
participated in the 2001 survey, said Shawn Hawkins, the program's executive director. 
An estimate for that shelter was calculated, using the number of animals it 
reported taking in on its Web site.Each shelter was assured its individual 
figures would not be published, primarily out of concern about negative publicity, 
even though euthanasia is an integral part of controlling the number of stray 
animals, Hawkins said."Without it, we'd just be overrun with stray animals, 
disease, traffic hazards and children bitten in playgrounds," he said.Estimates 
nationally and locally show that euthanasias have fallen. Animal People, an 
independent publication based in Washington state, estimates the number of dogs 
and cats destroyed was 4.4 million in 2001, compared with 5.7 in 1992 and 23.4 
million in 1970.Figures from the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program show the 
number of euthanasias in Bexar and Comal counties fell from 49,689 in 1997 to 
43,582 in 2001. Figures for 2001 show 81,320 animals in the Houston area and 23,303 
in the Dallas area were destroyed. Officials of the local Humane Society said 
San Antonians lag behind other Texans in having their pets sterilized."We 
just don't do a good job of it yet," said Cathy Rosenthal, the shelter's director 
of community relations and education.At the city-run San Antonio Animal Care 
Facility in Brackenridge Park, where euthanasias rose from 42,238 in 2001 to 
43,109 last year, about 90 percent of impounded animals are be destroyed, said 
Dr. William Lammers, veterinary services manager with the San Antonio 
Metropolitan Health District.Another 25,000 to 30,000 dead cats and dogs are removed 
from roads each year by local public works crews, he said.Along with the spot 
focusing on euthanasias, the Humane Society and the Animal Resource Center, 
which provides animal sterilization at low rates to the public and free to people 
on public assistance, also has released a spot about animal neglect. It 
features Lady Pancha, a homeless dog brought into the society in December with 
chemical burns and a broken pelvic bone.That spot, showing the dog chained in a 
yard, asks the public to report neglect to the society. Production costs of both 
ads were donated by A Big Chihuahua/K. Fernandez, a local ad firm; and 
Maverick Video.James Bias, the Humane Society's executive director, said the TV 
spots will air "as long as the local media will run them" as a public service."I'd 
like to see us someday become a 'no-kill' city," he said. "We've got a long 
way to go."shuddleston at express-news.net
    
    
    
    
 
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