BARC Has New Boss

December 11, 2009

by: Bill Stamps

The agency in charge of Houston's stray dogs and cats has a new leader. The Bureau of Animal Regulation and Control has gone through a lot of turmoil in recent years. But with today's announcement, they're hoping to put all of that in the past. Bill Stamps has more.

The agency known as BARC went through two general managers earlier this year and then there was bickering about contract of the interim manager Gerry Fusco. Come February, Fusco will be gone. The new top DAWG will be former 24 Hour Fitness Vice President of Sales David Atencio. Atencio calls this his dream job.

"There’s a lot of great things going on at BARC right now, so my roll is going to be to take it to the next level."

City councilmember said they got more emails about BARC this year than any other agency. Almost none of them were good. Fusco was brought in this summer to right the ship. Mostly to improve what they call live releases:

"The adoptions, the fosters, the rescues, and get more animals out of BARC alive. And I’m proud to say that in November we achieved an all time record at BARC of 942 animals released."

Fusco says one of the changes he made was to add another staff member that specifically works with volunteers and rescue groups. Those were some of the groups that were most critical of the agency. Still, Fusco says none of that matters if they can’t control the overall number of strays.

"If we don’t control animal population, obviously the rates of rescues and fosters and adoptions cannot keep up with that, so we really need to control the population."

The new general manager will start on Monday and will have six weeks to get up to speed before Fusco says goodbye.

"The great things I got Jerry for six weeks, so for me, that’s invaluable. But I also know that I’ve got Jerry for me anytime and that was important for me when I took over this role, to have some great transition, to make sure that I was successful."

BARC’S animal housing facility is in the process of undergoing a 3-million dollar makeover. They’re adding space, but they’re also hoping to work with rescue group out of the state of Texas. Their hoping all of these changes will mean fewer and fewer animals will have to be put to sleep.

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Start work on new animal shelter
By Denise Warren
Contributor
Published May 10, 2009

During the Nov. 4, 2008, bond election, the voters of Galveston County overwhelmingly approved a much-needed new animal shelter to replace the antiquated and overcrowded Joe Vickery Shelter on Loop 197 North in Texas City.

The existing shelter is designed for 4,600 animals per year, but handles between 8,600 and 10,000 per year.

Only 38 dog kennels exist for the “entire” county, with only eight of those available for quarantined animals. This is the area intended for the observation of dogs that have bitten humans, as a precaution against rabies.

With only eight kennels to house all of the quarantined dogs of Galveston County, a county with a human population of about 284,000 people (with at least half that population of pets), the shelter staff members are frequently stressed to manage compliance with state quarantine law. A new, larger shelter would relieve this stress and better protect the public.

Aggressive dogs, dangerous dogs and pets on police hold while their owners are incarcerated have no dedicated kennel space away from the general pet population and the public. This is unsafe.

The shelter has little room to properly quarantine incoming animals for observation of possible disease. Staff members knock themselves out finding new and inventive ways to house incoming animals, but the fact remains that the shelter is too small.

When completed in 1993, the county plan called for renovation and expansion of the shelter in 2003. That date was ignored by our county commissioners, resulting in the facility’s struggle to accommodate the needs of the pets of the citizens of this county.

Galveston County has an unusually high percentage of unvaccinated dogs and cats. As a consequence, many seemingly healthy animals arrive at the shelter, incubating diseases picked up on the street. However, through the efforts of nonprofit groups such as the Animal Alliance of Galveston County and Shelter Buddies of Texas, low-cost vaccinations (and spay/neuter assistance) are being provided to reduce these numbers.

There is, though, no dedicated exam and treatment room in the shelter, making administration of vaccinations and assessment of animals difficult for the staff and trained volunteers.

Despite all of the building’s shortcomings, the hardworking GCAS staff has managed, in partnership with local rescue groups, to reduce the euthanasia rate from 85 percent to about 45 percent. Sadly, adoptable animals still are being put down, but a new shelter with an adoption center would greatly improve the adoption rate and reduce the euthanasia rate.

The voters approved the new shelter and facilities bond overwhelmingly. The vote was a mandate, not a “suggestion.” I urge the Galveston County Commissioners Court to move forward, with all haste, to market bonds for the new shelter.

Waiting will not improve the options for the county’s owned pets. Waiting will not improve the safety of citizens when there’s no room for dangerous dogs to be confined in a dedicated area away from the public. And, with the increase in criminal dog fighting, we mustn’t wait to provide the citizens of this county with a secure place to house such dogs while cases await trial.

Now is the time for the Galveston County Commissioners to share their plan and timetable for new shelter construction. We’re waiting.

Denise Warren is president of the Animal Alliance of Galveston County.

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Humane Society to review Dallas' animal shelter, services department

07:23 AM CST on Thursday, December 10, 2009
By RUDOLPH BUSH / The Dallas Morning News
rbush@dallasnews.com

The city of Dallas' animal shelter and animal services department will undergo an independent review by the Humane Society of the United States, the city's Animal Shelter Commission is scheduled to announce today.

The review, to be conducted with the cooperation and blessing of City Hall, is seen by some animal advocates as a chance to shed light on what they perceive as serious flaws in the way Dallas deals with animal issues.

Assistant City Manager Forest Turner, who oversees the animal services department, said he welcomes the review as an opportunity to learn what the city is doing right and where it can improve.

"We're encouraged by the fact somebody would come in and evaluate the operations and give us recommendations," he said.

The $25,000 cost of the review will be covered by the Metroplex Animal Coalition and not City Hall.

In 2001, the Humane Society performed a similar review that resulted in a 121-page report that sharply questioned the adequacy of Dallas' animal shelters.

In part due to that report, the city funded construction of its new and widely praised shelter on Westmoreland Road.

Even the city's staunchest critics agree that the new facility – along with better training for staff – has significantly improved Dallas' animal shelter operations.

But concerns remain among some of the city's top animal advocates about how Dallas handles animal issues and particularly investigations into cruelty – especially against dogs that are kept in squalid conditions and in some cases bred for fighting.

"There are obviously improvements we think need to be made in the areas of investigations, and working with the police and district attorney in pursuing animal cruelty," said Jonnie England, a member of the city's Animal Shelter Commission.

The commission's longtime chairman, Skip Trimble, said he expects the Humane Society to do a "soup-to-nuts" review of animal services.

"They look at their policies and procedures. They look at their physical facilities. They cover everything," Trimble said.

Carolyn Machowski, the Humane Society's shelter evaluation program manager, said the review will take about five months and will be comprehensive.

The handling of cruelty investigations will be examined, she said.

Turner said his staff would fully cooperate with the review and provide any assistance requested.

He said he expects the results of the review will be helpful.

The Humane Society "has a strong reputation for doing this type of work," he said.