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Godley mayor urges Johnson County to coordinate response to growing animal-dumping problem
Summary
Godley Mayor Chris Lanker told the Johnson County Commissioners Court that packs of dumped dogs are appearing along the county line, killing pets and livestock, and that cities lack a place to take captured animals. He asked the county to lead regional ordinance alignment and a shared facility; no formal action was taken.
Chris Lanker, mayor of the city of Godley, told the Johnson County Commissioners Court on May 27 that multiple cities in the county are seeing increasing numbers of animals dumped along county roads and then moving into city limits.
“Once the dogs start coming across this video camera, I quit counting at about 25,” Lanker said, describing a resident’s overnight security footage of a pack that moves across a property on the city–county line. He said the animals are entering towns, killing pets and livestock, and forming roaming packs in rural areas.
Lanker said Godley’s animal control officer has “absolutely no place he can take them” when animals are picked up. The mayor said the city previously relied on a veterinary partner in Hood County that had a three-day hold policy; that partnership ended after the clinic declined to accept sick animals. Lanker said calls to the county nonemergency line produced the information that Johnson County currently has no local ordinances governing pets — including leash requirements, rabies vaccination requirements, or containment rules.
“Was it your pet? Because we can respond if it’s your pet,” Lanker recounted being told by a county dispatcher, adding that the sheriff’s office will respond if a dog is attacking a person or that person’s pet but will not respond if a dog is attacking another resident’s animal.
The mayor urged interlocal cooperation. “The county’s gonna have to take the lead on this because any type of facility or anything would have to be on county property,” Lanker said, and suggested cities could join a county-run facility and share costs. He also recommended tightening ordinances across jurisdictions (registration, rabies vaccination, and spay/neuter requirements) and requiring registration unless an owner is a registered breeder or show-dog handler.
Court members thanked Lanker for bringing the issue forward but made no immediate commitment to action from the dais. Judge Rick Huebsen noted the court cannot respond during public comment but said the matter “is something that we’ll have to take seriously and we’re gonna have to spend more time working on a potential solution.”
No formal motion or vote on an animal-control program or ordinance was made during the meeting.
