Some were abandoned, some were born there and some went in as strays. But all the pets at the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center have one thing in common: they need a forever home.
Some were abandoned, some were born there and some went in as strays. But all the pets at the Brownsville Animal Regulation and CareCenter have one thing in common: they need a forever home.
The city of Brownsville took a step toward making sure more shelter animals have a chance to be adopted with the city commission’s vote last week to pursue a no-kill model for the shelter.
“We’re trying to move as fast as possible because every day dogs come in, and very little are going out,” Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa said. “They’re completely healthy and don’t deserve what their fate is. That’s the urgency.”
City data show a staggering three in four animals at the shelter in 2017 were euthanized.
Of 7,698 animals taken to the facility last year, 1,158 were adopted. Another 5,859 were put down.
Under the guidelines the city is working to implement, Tetreau-Kalifa said healthy animals or those who could be nursed back to health by rescue organizations would not be euthanized. Only dangerous animals or animals with transmittable diseases would be put down.
Tetreau-Kalifa said the city is taking the first step of changing its part-time veterinarian position to full-time and increasing the salary to $75,000. The cost to spay or neuter one dog is about $100, but she hopes the municipal shelter will be able to bring that cost down to around $20 per pet in the future.
“We want to make this service available to the public (and) make it affordable,” she said.
For more information on rabies clinics, pet adoption and volunteer opportunities, call the shelter at (956) 544-7351 or visit www.cob.us.
A more complete version of this story is available on www.myBrownsvilleHerald.com.
