COLDSPRING — County Commissioner Crystal Dominy was placed in an overseer capacity of the County Animal Control Center, but not without tempers flaring during a discussion over euthanizing animals.
At the Wednesday meeting of the San Jacinto County Commissioners Court, County Judge Fritz Faulkner said there has been discussion about putting someone in charge of animal control, and there is a commissioner with many years of experience in veterinary services in Dominy.
The county also discussed putting animals down; Faulkner said that there are animals at the shelter that have been there for over a year, and the county is not operating a zoo and allowing animals to “live out their happy life.”
“If there are other agencies that want to take the animals after a period of time; but at some point, we can’t keep feeding them,” Faulkner said. “There’s no reason to keep an animal in a county facility for over a year, or even 6 months.”
Sheriff Sam Houston said that when he took over animal control in 2019, when he was a constable, it was with the understanding that the county had designated it as a no-kill shelter. However, Faulkner said that at no time did the county approve that designation.
Commissioner Donnie Marrs said that if a dog can’t be adopted, something has to be done to it.
“It has to be put to sleep or euthanized,” Marrs said. “That’s the way it is, and nobody wants to admit that.”
Even so, Houston said that he will not be part of animal control if the county decides to begin putting animals to sleep.
During public comments, Jeri Garrett lambasted the county, said that no one from the court has seen the work that goes on at the shelter.
“This shelter has stood for compassion, which is why people stay working there,” she said. “Turning it into a kill shelter will drive away the people who come to help and hold this place together and will affect the county.”
Killing animals should never become the easy solution to a problem created by a lack of support, a lack of funding and a lack of involvement from leadership, Garrett said.
“Instead of pushing euthanasia, a county official should work alongside the shelter to find a real solution — more rescue partners, a larger spay/neuter program and more support for the people doing the work,” Garrett said. “The animals deserve better, the staff deserves better and the county deserves leaders willing to actually step inside the shelter before making decisions that will forever change it.”
In other business, the court:
