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Residents urge council to address roaming dogs and county shelter gaps after SPCA pullout
Summary
Two longtime Waxahachie residents and members of the Ellis County Pet Coalition asked the city to consider a regional shelter, increased capacity and funding options after the county SPCA announced it will withdraw services.
During public comment at the Feb. 3 Waxahachie City Council meeting, residents urged the council to address a growing problem of dogs running at large and to explore sheltering options after the county SPCA announced plans to pull out of the county.
Jona Wallace, a lifetime Waxahachie resident who gave her address as 3305 Sanger Creek Way, said she is "speaking on behalf of the animals in, the city of Waxahachie tonight and and and really countywide." Wallace told the council she counted "just in the last 2 days, 15 dogs roaming at large in the city of Waxahachie" while scrolling on Facebook for 15 minutes and said the city's animal-holding capacity has not expanded "in the last 30 years" while population has grown.
Darlene Miller, a member of the Pet Coalition of Ellis County, said the coalition recently conducted a "Tri City tour" with city officials and Judge Todd Little and is moving toward organizing a task force to pursue collaboration. Miller said she hopes a Shelter presentation previously made by Chief Weiser could be placed on a bond; she also said "SPCA [is] pulling out of the county," and that animals from Waxahachie have been moved to the SPCA of Texas when local kennels were full.
Council members acknowledged the complaints as a health and safety issue. Councilman Souter called the situation "a public safety and public health issue," noted that the SPCA is planning to withdraw services as of April 15, and urged continued public engagement: "keep coming up. Keep coming up." Several council members praised the Pet Coalition for ongoing outreach and encouraged residents to maintain pressure on the issue.
No formal motions or directives were recorded on the transcript to create a new shelter or to approve funding; staff or council did not report a specific timeline or action at the meeting. Council members encouraged continued discussion and said they are "working on it," noting government processes can be slow.
The public comments and council responses indicate the city faces capacity and coordination questions for animal control, and residents asked the council to consider regional partnerships and funding options such as bonds to expand shelter capacity.
