Weslaco to open animal shelter

WESLACO—Intent on reducing costs for transporting stray animals, the city has decided to build its own shelter, now close to completion.

Weslaco, like several other Rio Grande Valley cities, takes animals including cats, dogs and possums to the Palm Valley Animal Center in Edinburg, where it costs $69 per animal to leave them.

“At one point it was cheaper to go over there and regionalize, and that made sense,” said City Manager Leo Olivares.

But what was once effective is now too expensive, he said. Weslaco budgeted $120,000 to spend on pet control during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2011, and spent that and an additional $30,000 that city leaders voted Jan. 17 to transfer from the elections department.

This year the budget includes just $60,000. Most of that will cover construction for the animal shelter, and $15,000 will be set aside for the cost of disposal.

The new facility should open within the next week or two. It includes nine large cages that can each hold three to four dogs and 12 cat cages. It also has a 100-square-foot freezer for animals that are euthanized, said Planning Director Jorge Gonzalez.

Olivares said the project would not increase city staffing—the two existing animal control officers will continue to pick up and process the animals and will stay on-site in the shelter only at certain times of the day.

“Our plan is not to have it staffed 24/7,” Gonzalez said.

Only one of the officers is certified to euthanize animals. The other still needs to be certified.

The new facility is registered as a shelter and it is possible for it to serve other cities, but it will begin by limiting itself to Weslaco, Gonzalez said.

The rising cost of animal control has hit several area cities by surprise. San Juan had to add $75,000 in 2011 to its original $125,000 budgeted. Pharr spends about $20,000-30,000 per month on animals.

Olivares said he hoped Weslaco and other cities would be able to find a way to keep the problem from running wild.

“One of the things we need to do is do better on education for prevention—spay or neuter your pet,” he said.

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Elizabeth Findell covers Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at efindell@themonitor.com or (956) 683-4428.