Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) Director Jonathan Gary told a city council committee on Monday that the agency had improved its critical call response rate and spay and neuter surgeries in the last several months.
The critical call response rate is 82% over that time period, and it was as high as 84.5% in April.
“We've seen that that number continue to move up, and we're also on our goal to achieve 100% by early next year,” Gary said.
In 2023, ACS’ critical call response rate was 44%.
Gary credited the significant jump over the last two years to the addition of 22 new staff members. They handle nearly 90,000 annual resident calls, roughly 55,000 of which are deemed critical calls — calls related to aggressive, trapped, confined, sick, or injured animals.
Spay and neuter surgeries, another major ACS priority, are also up.
The sterilization surgeries are up 9% compared to the same time last year. In a sign of the agency’s recent efforts, they are 90% higher than the same time in 2023.
Gary said ACS still had some work to do to reach its goal of conducting 41,000 spay and neuter surgeries this year, but that clinic openings are spurring them closer to that number.
“Our community is showing that those clinics were needed, and they are taking advantage of their being open, with those appointments booked out through June on the West Side,” he said.
The new West Side spay and neuter clinic held a grand opening in April, and the second new clinic on the East Side will hold its grand opening on Friday. ACS estimated that the two new clinics will contribute a combined 7,000 to 8,000 surgeries annually.
Gary said ACS had also stepped up enforcement efforts, increasing the number of criminal citations by 220% and the number of civil citations by 46%.
“The additional staff for dangerous dogs allow us not only conduct Initial investigations, but also do the regular follow ups to ensure compliance,” Gary said.
The ACS budget is likely to be one of the biggest topics of conversation as the city council considers what programs to prioritize in upcoming city budget negotiations as it faces looming deficits.
