Animal advocates urge policy changes at Smith County Animal Control and Shelter – Tyler Morning Telegraph

Mainly clear skies. Low 78F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..
Mainly clear skies. Low 78F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: July 27, 2022 @ 10:33 pm
Former stray dog Sam walks around a “get acquainted” room at the Tyler Animal Shelter at 4218 Chandler Highway in October 2020.

Reporting intern
Former stray dog Sam walks around a “get acquainted” room at the Tyler Animal Shelter at 4218 Chandler Highway in October 2020.
Concerned residents and representatives of local animal rescues expressed frustration with Smith County Animal Control and Shelter at Tuesday’s commissioners court meeting.
Advocates called for better hours, funding and policy changes.
Kat Cortelyou with SPCA of East Texas said their organization along with Nicholas Pet Haven, Angel Paws advocates and other Smith County nonprofit rescues are receiving calls and emails daily from desperate taxpayers. Cortelyou said the residents are being punished for doing something kind and humane, like rescuing a dog from a busy intersection or a stray that has been dumped in their yard.
Cortelyou and other individuals emphasized that if someone gives a stray animal any kind of nourishment water or shelter, Smith County animal shelter tells them, “That is your dog now.”
“It’s things like this that has the public frustrated,” Cortelyou said. “I know that this is the process the county uses to keep the number down in the shelter but it’s not working.”
Cortelyou said SPCA of East Texas does not really have a shelter and runs off donor dollars yet they currently have 180-plus animals in their program.
“If we can do it, so can the county,” Cortelyou said.
Smith County Commissioner Cary Nix said it is getting to a place where good people are being penalized.
“[A] good citizen who sees a starving dog on the side of the road and goes to get it and next thing you know [they] own the dog … we gotta change that policy,” said Nix.
Tiffany Hill, board member of SPCA and chair of pediatrics at UT Health Tyler school of medicine, said they cannot expect people to stop, feed stray animals and then adopt those animals on the spot.
“What we’ve created here is just an encouraging opportunity for people to just dump their dogs on the side of the road and that is a disservice to not only the animals but to the citizens here from a health perspective,” Hill said.
Hill said she understands there are budgetary issues to be addressed later, but asked that animal control officers open up their doors so residents have a place to surrender the animals.
Erick Fleming, who has served with SPCA of East Texas, said he thinks the county needs to raise the level of effort and amount of money it spends to get the situation under control. He said animals need to be picked up.
“Pick them up means you have to have a hotline or some type of reliable place where citizens can call and get an immediate response,” Fleming said.
Fleming said right now people are calling and animals are not getting picked up for days or weeks.
“It’s just like if you have a missing child, you can’t let 24, 48 hours, 72 hours pass,” Fleming said. “The dog’s gonna get hit by a car, the dog’s gonna bite someone, so pick them up.”
Fleming said he was one of those people bit when trying to save a dog.
“I deserved it because I tried to do something I’m not trained to do,” Fleming said. “I went out and tried to rescue a dog after we couldn’t get a response and the dog didn’t attack me, he wasn’t aggressive. He was fleeing. I tried to get him so I could take him home and feed him and take care of him, and of course he turned around and bit me and took off.
“I don’t think we want any inexperienced people like me, trying to do the job that an expert should do … Let’s put the effort and the time and the money to pick them up [and] have a place to stay.”
Fleming also suggested forming a closer relationship between the private rescues and public animal control.
Gwen Coyle with Angel Paw Advocates said there is a huge stray population and they are drowning.
“The state of Texas, we are the worst state for animals abused, neglected and euthanized,” Coyle said. “We should be ashamed of that, I’m ashamed of that.”
Coyle and other advocates said spay and neuter laws are needed to control the population of strays. Coyle said Angel Paw Advocates is working with other rescues to come up with a plan to help.
Smith County Animal Control and Shelter Supervisor Amber Greene presented a budget proposal at the meeting to improve some of the problems. Greene requested having a full time kennel tech, an additional $5,000 medical budget, an additional $2,500 for annual control expenses and $3,000 for miscellaneous equipment.
County Judge Nathaniel Moran proposed approving the medical and control expenses, but he was not sold on the other requests.
Moran recommended opening the shelter during lunch and suggested closing Monday and opening Saturday until noon. Moran said it is an easy management decision that is responsive to citizens’ requests.
“There’s a way to work through these problems,” Moran said. “… There’s a solution to be found on a number of those items, it’s not just about money and personnel. You gotta make some changes to the operations.”
Moran suggested the shelter work with the groups that spoke at the meeting to make policy changes and form viable solutions to these issues so they can become partners in the community.
Reporting intern
Reporting intern Priya Leal is a student at the University of North Texas majoring in digital/print journalism. Leal is pursing her passion for journalism and enjoys covering all types of news.
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