Audit faults Animal Care Services’ paperwork
Animal Care Services isn’t properly monitoring animals it hands off to rescue organizations, a city audit found.
Every year, ACS sends thousands of animals that might otherwise be euthanized to rescue organizations in San Antonio and out of state. Hundreds of organizations help out for free, but a handful formally contract with the city and are compensated for taking in animals.
ACS hasn’t been inspecting the facilities of all organizations it partners with to ensure that pets are safe or formally confirming that groups sterilize animals when needed, according to the audit.
Shannon Oster-gabrielson, ACS assistant to the director, said the latter issue is largely a documentation problem that the department is correcting. ACS typically sterilizes animals on its own, but when pets are young or ill the rescue partner may be charged with the task. ACS didn’t always record when a partner spayed or neutered an animal.
Inspections also have been a challenge for ACS, Oster-gabrielson said, because some groups they work with are out of state or rely heavily on people who foster animals in their homes.
ACS has finalized plans to conduct virtual inspections with those partners to ensure animals are safe in their care.
The city’s 2024 annual budget includes a funding boost for rescue partners in hopes that the groups would take an additional 1,500 pets off ACS’S hands this year, which could blunt an increase in the number of ACS animal euthanasias. Groups currently get a flat rate of $200 per animal pulled. They used to receive between $75 to $125, depending on the size and age of a pet.
The audit zeroed in on rescue group contracts, though most community members’ complaints about ACS center around roaming and aggressive dogs.
Earlier this month, community members vented their frustration at city officials in a Northwest Side town hall. Several attendees told stories of dog attacks or close calls in their neighborhoods. Many said their calls for help have gone unanswered.
Last year, city officials said ACS responded to only 44% of calls involving aggressive dogs or animal cruelty and neglect. But with an injection of additional funding in this year’s budget, the goal is to increase the response rate to 64%. The department got a 33% funding increase in this year’s budget, which took effect Oct. 1. The new money is being used to hire 15 new officers, including eight who will investigate dogbite cases and ensure that owners of dogs that have been designated as dangerous are complying with city regulations.
Most of those employees have been hired, according to ACS.
The department says there have been significant increases this year in criminal and civil citations issued to pet owners.
A city ordinance defines severe dog bites as those causing death, broken bones or disfigurement. There were 297 such cases last fiscal year, marking a 58% jump over the previous year, when 188 severe dog bites were reported in San Antonio.