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San Angelo residents press council over shelter policy after unexplained euthanasias
Summary
Multiple residents and rescue partners urged the City of San Angelo to halt recent animal-shelter policy changes after a surge of euthanasias and limited community involvement; City Manager Daniel Valenzuela defended intake and called for shared responsibility.
Dozens of San Angelo residents, volunteers and contracted rescue partners urged the City Council on March 7 to reverse recent changes at the city-operated animal shelter that community members say allowed healthy dogs to be euthanized before rescues or the public had a chance to intervene.
Speakers at the public-comment portion of the City Council meeting described the change as a unilateral decision by city management and said the community and contracted partners were not given adequate notice or participation. They called for enforcement of existing ordinances such as mandatory spay/neuter and for the city to restore partnerships and transparency.
The protest began with Ashley Swider of District 2, who said the policy change made euthanasia “a permanent solution to a temporary problem” and argued that improved visibility and website updates would allow rescues and residents to save more dogs. “Euthanasia…
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