Houston can fix its stray animal crisis
The suffering that untold thousands of animals face on Houston’s sweltering streets is documented in heartbreaking detail for those with the emotional stamina to make it through the Houston Chronicle’s coverage of the peace officers and rescue groups striving to save their lives.
The images and stories are gut-wrenching: Rescue volunteers coaxing a mangy, starving dog from a drainage culvert a day before it birthed a litter of puppies. Animal cruelty investigators summoned to help a pair of dogs crammed in a tiny wire cage on an apartment patio in the blazing heat.
If the words and pictures aren’t convincing enough, consider the alarming numbers. Animal shelters in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties are each caring for dozens more cats and dogs than they were built to handle, while volunteer-dependent rescue groups can’t find enough foster homes to meet demand. Houston’s animal shelter, BARC, is woefully understaffed — about 1 out of every 5 jobs is perpetually vacant — because they simply can’t pay enough to compete for employees who can easily find less stressful work elsewhere. Meanwhile, local law enforcement agencies report a nearly threefold increase in animal cruelty and neglect calls. The U.S. Postal Service labeled Houston with the dubious distinction of “Dog Bite Capital of America” for three straight years before coming second in 2022.
Add it all up, and the situation is clear: The number of stray animals roaming Houston and Harris County is unacceptable for any community, much less one with so much justifiable civic pride.
As co-leaders of Houston PetSet, we have seen our community rally to address our stray animal crisis. We were proud to work with other animal advocates, Mayor Sylvester Turner, City Council member Sally Alcorn and the rest of City Council to win unanimous passage of a tougher animal ordinance that mandates microchipping and clamps down on pet stores that support unscrupulous breeding operations. We worked with Texas lawmakers to draft anti-tethering and adequate shelter legislation that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law. We partner with BARC to support mobile spay and neuter clinics throughout our city. But it’s not enough.
Truly addressing our region’s stray animal crisis in a meaningful way that ends suffering and protects our children and families from aggressive dogs will require a holistic approach led by those with the power and resources to get the job done. Fortunately, our leaders have shown the ability to do just that.
Earlier this summer, we celebrated as our Houston World Cup Bid Committee, chaired by philanthropist John Arnold, was named a host of the 2026 international soccer tournament. And we are now seeing indisputable evidence that Turner’s pledge to end chronic homelessness is succeeding in ways that few thought possible. In Houston, we know how to solve problems. It’s time to turn that collective know-how toward our shameful stray animal crisis.
Houston PetSet and the rest of our region’s long-serving animal welfare groups stand ready to support a strategic, regional effort that treats this issue with the sense of urgency it deserves. We need leadership committed to supporting our shelters with the resources they need to end the so-called “managed intake” practices that artificially reduce euthanasia rates by simply refusing to accept every stray that’s brought to them. We must also:
• Collect local data and study innovative approaches that other communities have used to protect their companion animals.
• Develop a coordinated, multi-jurisdictional approach to seeking all available state and federal resources.
• Invest more in preventive measures such as affordable, easily accessed spay and neuter services.
• Educate residents on responsible pet care and how to comply with animal cruelty and neglect laws.
• Recruit, train and empower more peace officers to protect
companion animals from neglect and intentional cruelty.
• Encourage judges to hold perpetrators of animal abuse accountable.
This issue is complex but solvable for our innovative community. We have earned a world-class reputation for culinary offerings, the arts, industry, medical innovation and more. Sadly, Houston falls shamefully short when it comes to protecting our vulnerable animals. It’s an inherited problem that has gone largely unchecked for decades. It’s time to do right for the animals.