Overcrowding strains animal services shelter, threatens no-kill effort

The El Paso Animal Services Center is struggling to manage severe overcrowding in the city-run shelter.

The conditions at the shelter on Fred Wilson in Northeast El Paso have raised concerns among animal rescue leaders who have a lengthy list of complaints. They say the shelter is understaffed and out of room. 

In addition, dogs infected with the contagious parvovirus and living in dirty kennels have created unsanitary conditions at the shelter. There has not been a veterinarian employed there for over two months.

“These animals aren’t being taken care of,” said Loretta Hyde, founder of Animal Rescue League of El Paso.

Terry Kebschull, director of El Paso Animal Services, is aware of the concerns from local rescues and told El Paso Inc., “We’ve got nothing to hide here at the shelter.”

“We have a difficult job, and our employees here work tirelessly to take care of the animals that we have in our care,” he said. 

Kebschull was named director of El Paso Animal Services in May 2022. 

 Hyde, who was on the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee until January 2022, said the main issue at the animal shelter is that it’s understaffed.

 “They take forever to hire anybody, and once they get someone and that employee sees how much work it is and the conditions, they leave after a couple of days,” Hyde said. “They’re blaming it on COVID for the short staff and on everything under the sun. They need to get a vet and start giving competitive salaries.”  

Kebschull said without a veterinarian, they aren’t performing as many spay and neuter procedures, which are critical for reducing pet overpopulation. 

“With us having a veterinary shortage, we are using clinics just like any other customer, where we have to wait in lines like everybody else,” he said. 

The shelter would like to hire three full-time veterinarians and a chief veterinarian. Kebschull said they have raised the salaries for the positions since August in an effort to get more applicants.

He did not say specifically how much the salaries were increased, but the city of El Paso’s job listings for full-time veterinarians advertise an annual salary of $91,480 to $163,130. 

On Thursday, animal services announced the arrival of a traveling relief veterinarian with the BISSELL Pet Foundation, who will provide about 300 surgical procedures for pets at the shelter and in foster homes.

As animals have filled the shelter, conditions have worsened, said Julia Krampe, who volunteered at animal services for more than six years until March 2022.

“There was a dog that had diarrhea, and the bottom of the kennel was disgusting. The dog was clearly sick, and it later tested positive for parvo,” Krampe said. “They took it and stuck it in a youth room kennel next to two puppies that tested negative for parvo. When I asked why they would stick a parvo-positive dog next to two puppies, they said there was a lack of space.” 

Pushing forward

Overcrowding is not a new issue at the shelter, but it has worsened and is challenging animal services’ efforts to become a no-kill shelter, a goal adopted by City Council in 2016. While there is no official definition, a no-kill shelter is generally one that has at least a 90% placement rate.

“We are the shelter for the entire county, and that means all the municipalities here and Fort Bliss as well,” Kebschull said. “Any animals that are captured that are stray or aggressive, they come here to our shelter.” 

In 2012, 73% of more than 33,000 animals brought to the shelter were euthanized.  

 While animal services reported a live release rate of 86.75% in 2022, it has dropped to about 79% as of May 2022. 

Kebschull said maintaining a no-kill shelter has been hard.   

  “Everything that comes in, we want to leave alive and well,” he said. “We humanely euthanize when needed, but it is a difficult endeavor and a community effort. Unfortunately, our adoption rates are not as high as we would like them to be.” 

Part of the no-kill strategy involves transporting animals to other states where they can be adopted. Animal services has partnered with nonprofit organizations, including Dog Is My CoPilot, which transport animals from communities with overcrowded shelters to areas where they can be adopted. 

Economic insecurity has led more people to abandon their animals or bring pets to the shelter, Kebschull said. 

“Some people’s financial situations change, and we’ve had people surrendering their pets to us because they can’t afford it,” he said. “We try to provide them with dog food or maybe a doghouse. But when all those efforts fail, some just do not have a choice.”

But, Kebschull said, the shelter continues to work hard to push forward with the help of volunteers, about 500 every month. They help play, feed, and clean up after the animals.

“They become almost as regular staff here once they get that much training,” Kebschull said. “They also help a lot in the yard and train the animals. Volunteering can really make a difference here.”

Addressing concerns about the spread of parvo, he said, “We vaccinate every animal as they come in, but we do not know the history of these animals.

“When you have an overabundance of animals, it gets more difficult. That is why also having that veterinarian on staff and helping us with that is going to help tremendously.”

Kebschull said animal services has the full support of the city of El Paso. Its budget this year is more than $9 million. 

City Council approved the expansion of the shelter in 2019. Work has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but, Kebschull said, construction should start around 2023 and is expected to take at least a year.

“The ultimate goal would be to have no animals here and either return or find them homes,” he said. “Some short-term goals are to make sure that these projects stay on task like the expansion, getting veterinarians on board and making sure our animals, our employees, our volunteers and our rescue partners are all being taken care of as well.”

Email El Paso Inc. reporter Luis Rios at lrios@elpasoinc.com or call 915-534-442 ext. 132.