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Residents and rescuers urge end to 'Haas/Best Friends' approach at El Paso animal services, demand audit and transparency
Summary
Multiple speakers at council criticized the city’s animal‑sheltering strategy and asked for an independent audit and leadership change. Speakers said outside sheltering models used by Best Friends and Haas have failed locally and urged the city to restore the West Side shelter, hire veterinarians and publish accurate shelter data.
A string of speakers during the Sept. 16 public comment period urged the El Paso City Council to change the city’s approach to animal sheltering, calling recent sheltering programs ineffective and asking the council to order an independent audit and restore full sheltering services in West Side facilities.
Ron Como and Chris Velez, both active in local rescue networks, told council the city has not conducted an independent audit of shelter operations in nearly a decade and that outsourcing shelter models tied to organizations such as Haas and Best Friends has produced poor outcomes in other cities. They asked the city to reopen the West Side facility as a full‑service shelter, hire veterinary staff and stop relying on consultants who, speakers said, have advocated the same failed models elsewhere.
Barbara Valencia of Huckleberry Hound Dog Rescue criticized a recently proposed $50,000 consultant contract with an individual she said has publicly endorsed Best Friends/Haas approaches. She said the city’s public statistics have been “manipulated” and called for transparent publishing of accurate outcomes, including separate accounting for trap‑neuter‑return (TNR) and return‑to‑owner metrics.
Speakers also pressed council to ensure the Animal Services Advisory Panel (ASAP) becomes more robust and to appoint community subject‑matter experts to hiring panels when the city seeks a new animal services director. Several speakers said local rescue partners supply a sizable share of live‑release outcomes and that repeated leadership choices have harmed the local rescue network.
Council did not take immediate action on the comments. Speakers asked for written acknowledgment and for staff to respond to requests for an independent audit, clearer data publication and a West Side shelter reopening plan.
