“Rescuing animals here is like emptying the ocean a teaspoon at a time,” said Jill Magee, a local animal advocate. ”And it just continues to get worse every year. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Tyler-area animal rescues and advocates believe more needs to be done to curb the overpopulation of stray dogs and cats. Meanwhile, animal control facilities do everything they can to avoid the worst — euthanasia — but it’s an unfortunate reality for many.

A resolution? That’s going to take the public’s help — something advocates and municipal facilities agree on.

“If the people (who) surrendered their animals — and the politicians — had to sit through … euthanasia, we might see some change,” said Gwen Coyle of Angel Paws Advocates, an East Texas nonprofit dedicated to rescuing abandoned animals and shelter animals before they are euthanized.

In 2023, 67% of cats and dogs taken in at Tyler Animal Control were euthanized, according to statistics provided by the facility. In 2022, the number was about the same at 64%. The Smith County Animal Control facility takes in only dogs. In 2023, about 13% of the facility’s total intake were euthanized. In 2022, a little more than 12% of the dogs were euthanized.

Is there a solution?

The answer is simple, but executing it is a lot more complex.

“Spaying and neutering is the only way we will eventually dig our area out of the huge homeless pet problem we have,” local advocate Jill Magee said. “I am begging the people of East Texas to please spay and neuter their pets to help get the pet overpopulation problem under control. I would also ask the leaders in our community… to consider a spay/neuter ordinance in our area.”

Judge Neal Franklin said while the county is not allowed to mandate spay and neuter regulations, he encourages personal responsibility with all pet owners.

“We are very well aware of the serious issue of loose dogs in our community,” Franklin said. “We always see an uptick in individuals dumping dogs when the economy gets tough.”

To assist with the growing problem of strays and overcrowding, the county utilized ARPA grant funding in February to begin a free Spay and Neuter program for the pets of Smith County residents. The initiative is in conjunction with Angel Paws Advocates and the No Strays Project.

“We’ve always been told that no one wants to spay/neuter their animals,” Coyle said. “But with the amount of people showing up and signing up and bringing their pets, it’s not true. People want to spay/neuter.”

Since the start of the program in February, more than 1,000 animals in Smith County have been spayed and/or neutered, the county said Monday morning.

“The response from residents has been remarkable,” Franklin said. However, he noted that $100,000 grant wouldn’t last long.

And he was right. The one-time ARPA grant, initially intended to cover two years, has been exhausted as of July. Moving forward, donations will be necessary to sustain the program.

Despite this funding challenge, Coyle said the program has already begun to show positive effects in surrounding communities.

“It’s starting to catch on,” she said. “Some of the other counties have reached out to ask us what we did and how they can accomplish this. So, we’re trying to raise awareness to get more donations so we can keep this going.”

According to officials and the rescuers, it’s too soon to tell what the effect will have on population control, as it may take anywhere from 12 to 18 months.

“We continue to see a large number of strays and our shelter remains full most of the time,” Franklin said. “We still need residents to be responsible and please spay and neuter their pets.”

Trap-Neuter-Return

Tyler resident Debra Allen loves cats and does what she can to take care of even those that are not hers. But she sees the number of stray cats rising every year.

“I don’t mind taking care of them, I love animals, but there needs to be a program where the cats are humanely trapped, neutered or spayed and then released back into the area,” she said.

Allen is referring to the TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program, which involves trapping stray cats, neutering (or spaying) them, and then returning them to their original area. While City of Tyler Animal Control and Smith County Animal Control do not currently offer this service, numerous rescue organizations in the area do.

“The population of the cats has really just … exploded and I will do however much I can on my fixed income to feed them… they shouldn’t be without food,” Allen said. “But the cats can’t help being here. They didn’t ask for this … that’s why it’s up to us to try and take care of them.”

In some communities, TNR is considered a divisive issue as the cats that are released are left to fend for themselves rather than be adopted out into a good home.

“What we do, and what I know some of the other rescues do, is if we feel like the cats are socialized enough, they can go to a home,” said Coyle. “We try to find fosters and get them adopted (after they have been trapped, neutered, and returned).”

If a cat is considered feral — meaning they are fearful of people and not likely to become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors — they will be returned where they were found. However, according to Coyle, some businesses or neighborhoods will care for feral cats that have been released. In some cases, cat rescues have colonies built to keep them safe from predators.

“We try to relocate them to safer areas … so they’re not at such high risk,” Coyle said. “We also have people who own farms and barns so we try to place the feral cats where they can be taken care of (and be productive).”

After spaying or neutering, rescues will also give the animals a double combo test, which consists of rabies vaccinations as well as a test for Feline leukemia virus (a type of cancer among cats that weakens the immune system).

“We want to make sure that they are healthy,” Coyle said.

Overcrowded, overwhelmed

As the problem of stray animals continues to increase, communities are constantly turning to shelters and rescues for assistance. However, local organizations are often overcrowded — and overwhelmed.

“I want to stress to the public that we understand that help (with rescuing or caring for a stray) is hard to find,” said Cindy Nash, of Nicholas Pet Haven. “However, that mom dog you allowed to get pregnant with 15 pups does not deserve to be dumped on the side of the road.”

According to Nash, most rescues are happy to help by providing food and medical care if people will foster until transport is available. The same goes for those who pick up an animal that had been dumped.

“They think they can drop at a shelter, but it’s not that easy,” she said. “The community needs to help by showing their support to the rescues. It’s going to take an army to clean up after people that won’t spay or neuter. Our goal is to help make these changes happen.”

Animal rescue is considered a vital social service to help protect animals from situations that often involve cruelty and abuse. People also turn their animals into shelters due to personal health concerns, evictions or other unforeseen life changes. Some cases are just because of lack of knowledge, education or even experience with caring for an animal.

“Its history begins the moment we pick it up,” said Shawn Markmann, Animal Shelter manager and director of Animal Services for Tyler Animal Control. “We don’t know anything about them. We’re learning about that animal while it’s in our facility. We have a certain responsibility to make sure that we’re sending out healthy adoptable animals into the community.”

However, many rescues believe that shelters should not be operated by animal control.

“Animal control’s main objective is protecting the public (and a) shelter’s main objective should be adopting dogs out,” Coyle said. “But citizens (need to) be responsible as well.”

The last resort

For both city and county animal control departments, the issue of an overcrowded facility is all too familiar, and they often face criticism for having policies that allow euthanasia.

“The public thinks that animal control just picks up dogs and euthanizes them right off,” said Amber Greene, Department Head/Supervisor of Smith County Animal Control and Shelter. “The public has a tendency to speculate on what they think from the tall tales of the past of the dreaded ‘dog catchers’ instead of actually finding the information out themselves. I am always happy to share with anyone on what animal control and the animal shelter does.”

Markmann also encourages the community to come and tour Tyler Animal Control.

Most public and government-run shelters are mandated by law to accept all stray animals brought in by the public and all pets surrendered by their owners. Many of these city and county shelters are also responsible for animal control, which adds to the overcrowding.

Because of this, the shelters have been in the position of euthanizing healthy and adoptable animals for the sake of space and time.

“The biggest factor pushing our euthanasia rate right now is owner-surrenders,” Markmann said.

Tyler Animal Control has a surrender fee of $40 per animal; however, they often deal with people who make claims that the animal is not theirs to avoid paying the fee.

“A lot of times when we go out in the field that these people are saying that they have found animals, and by the time the officer actually gets out there, we start noticing their dogs … responding to them, not to us,” said Tyler Animal Control Supervisor Mary Fowler.

Markmann keeps a list of local rescues at the front desk at Tyler Animal Control to encourage people to find a better situation for their animals.

“Once an animal comes in, they’re either going to get reclaimed by the owner or they’re going to get adopted out by a new family,” Markmann said. “They’re going to get tagged (on social media) by rescue and brought into their program, which they’re going to go through this whole process over again or they’re going to be euthanized. And I am very upfront with everyone… that they’re surrendering it for euthanasia. Sometimes people understand that, sometimes they don’t.”

Shelters usually will determine the adoptability of a dog by making sure they are healthy by giving them exams and observing any behavioral issues.

“If the dog poses a great danger to everyone then we will set an appointment with a vet for euthanasia,” Greene said. “We also want to keep the citizens and staff safe.”

Behavioral issues can include aggression, causing harm to people or other animals, potentially endangering the public. There are also health issues to consider, such as diseases or mobility disorders.

‘Hard decisions’

In August 2023, Tyler Animal Control took heat from some local rescues over a Great Pyrenees mix they claimed was euthanized before they had a chance to rescue it.

“I understand that they’re angry at somebody because this dog was left on the streets by somebody that they want punished,” Markmann said.

On Aug. 16, 2023, Tyler Animal Control received a phone call about the dog but it wasn’t inside city limits and advised the caller to get in contact with Smith County; however, almost five hours later, Markmann said they received another call about the same dog.

“We got another phone call saying the animal is underneath the vehicle out by the airport … at one of the support businesses in the airport, technically still in the county, but we went ahead and picked it up,” he said.

Markmann said the dog had edema and high temperature.

“He was bleeding from both eyes… and appeared to have scratched out its left eye completely, it was completely swollen,” Markmann said.

Euthanizing isn’t always a decision easily made; however, Markmann said he knew what was in the best interest of the dog.

“That was an easy decision because that dog was in a lot of pain,” he said. “The hard decisions are the dogs that nobody wants.”

A fighting chance

According to Greene, animal control will make last-ditch efforts to make sure any potential adoptable dog has a fighting chance, including reaching out to local dog trainers to see if they can evaluate and curb any aggressive behavior. They also reach out to a few rescues who specialize in aggressive and fearful dogs.

“We hold all our animals as long as possible. We want them all to get loving homes instead of having to euthanize,” she said. “Unfortunately, if we get into a spot where we are at capacity and we have dogs coming in with nowhere to put them, then the longest residents are the ones that are in critical need of getting out. We do put in one last plea to some of the rescues for help.”

Both animal control departments make daily posts on social media in efforts to find their intakes forever homes.

“Generally speaking, I’m looking at an animal’s overall health and their ability to go back out into the community as an adoptable animal,” Markmann said. “If the animal is fractious and won’t even let us put it through intake, I’m not going to be able to adopt it back out to the community.”

After a certain period of time — and, according to Markmann, there is no definite time — it’s based on how much space they have and if space is needed, they will have to euthanize.

“But thankfully, I have not had to do that much,” he said in September of last year.

Smith County Animal Control says it works with multiple rescue organizations every day.

“The rescues are their own network and they are all over the world,” Greene said. “There are even rescues in New York who see our dogs and they find adopters in New York for our dogs and they team up with local rescues here and the dogs are transported up north.”

How to help

In the solitude of their kennels, countless animals in shelters patiently await their fate, their eyes filled with a mix of hope and apprehension. They wonder what they might have done wrong, unaware of what lies ahead — whether they are moments away from finding a loving forever home or condemned to an uncertain future, longing for a chance to be a part of a loving family.

Advocates and leaders agree — the public must step up in order to relieve the issue of neighborhoods overcrowded with strays and overwhelmed facilities. From shelters who can’t take in any more animals to municipal facilities that have to resort to euthanasia, residents can take a stand by taking initiative to spay and neuter their own pets.

“Rescuing animals here is like emptying the ocean a teaspoon at a time,” Magee said. ”And it just continues to get worse every year.”

Additionally, fostering animals and making monetary donations can be extremely beneficial.

If you are interested in adopting or fostering, reach out to Smith County Animal Control & Shelter (903-266-4303), or Tyler Animal Shelter (903-535-0045). There are also many rescues in the community such as Nicholas’ Pet Haven (903-630-4242), The Humane Society’s Pets Fur People, SPCA of East Texas (903-596-7722), O’Malley Alley Cat Rescue (TylerTXCats@gmail.com), The Catty Shack (Cattyshackcr@gmail.com), Angel Paws Advocates (903-520-4547), and No Strays Project (thenostraysproject@gmail.com).

Statistics

Tyler Animal Control

(cats and dogs)

2022

Total intakes: 2,961

Adopted: 369

Died while in custody: 14

Escaped: 1

Euthanized: 1,884

Return to Owner: 415

Transferred: 258

2023

Total intakes: 2,808

Adopted: 317

Died while in custody: 0

Escaped: 0

Euthanized: 1,894

Return to Owner: 385

Transferred: 210

Smith County

Animal Control (dogs only)

2022

Total intakes: 959

Surrender: 13

Return: 22

Seized/Custody: 133

Strays: 791

Euthanized: 119

Adopted: 284

2023

Total intakes: 881

Surrender: 41

Return: 24

Seized/Custody: 5

Strays: 811

Euthanized: 114

Adopted: 260

Source: Tyler Animal Control and Smith County Animal Control