(Animal) Shelter from the Storm

To say I'm an animal lover doesn't say half of it. 

I cannot remember a time in my life, except for a short six-month period in California in the 1970s, that didn't include living with one or more animals. Growing up, we always had one or more dogs, cats, or both. I had parakeets and a mynah bird, lizards and turtles, hamsters and guinea pigs, aquariums full of fish and eels, and begged my parents (in vain) for a pony. 

Whenever I visit an animal shelter, adoption event, or PetSmart, it makes me sad because I want to take them all home. After losing two of our aging babies over the last two years, we now have only a fifteen-year-old Japanese Chin (who is my baby) and an eight-year-old red ear slider turtle, and a couple of neighborhood cats visit our yard regularly, as well as a few friendly opossums. And my husband and I have part ownership in a horse.

One of the best things about Rowlett's location is all the wildlife that goes with being a lakeside city. Each year, we wait for the pelicans to come through, look forward to hummingbird season, and we feed the cardinals and doves year-round. 

There was a bunny who showed up and lived in our garden for a while, and we have "hosted" barn swallow families and watched them hatch and raise their little ones most summers since we moved here twenty years ago. When those babies fall out of the nest, I climb up on a ladder and put them back - the parent birds have even come to expect that and to flutter at my window to let me know when one falls. 

Snakes, coyotes, bobcats - we've seen them all here. Turtles have made their way from lake to our side yard to lay their eggs. Raccoons have raided the trash cans. Armadillos have dug holes in our flower beds. Not all animal encounters are happy ones, but I respect the fact that they were here first; we humans invaded their space and destroyed their habitats and that's why we see them now in our neighborhoods. 

Animals are wonderful, but when there are problems - vicious dogs or dangerous wild animals, pets that are abandoned, lost or mistreated - the government has to get involved. In my opinion, animal services is a public safety function. Like police and fire, it exists to protect our citizens, both the human and the non-human ones. 

Back in 2009, I was appointed to the Rowlett Bond Committee and made the chair of the facilities subcommittee. I, along with other members, immediately identified a new animal shelter as one of the city's top facilities needs. It didn't happen.

In 2022, I was elected to the council and was immediately appointed to be council liaison to the animal shelter advisory board. I worked with them for two years to revise our animal ordinances, and I pushed for more funding for animal services for food and repairs and maintenance to the shelter. 

I have worked with the board and the Friends of Rescue Animals non-profit to advocate for grants and the co-sponsorship of events aimed at promoting adoption and fostering. 

In 2023, when we held the next bond election, I again strongly advocated to my fellow councilmembers to put a new animal shelter on the ballot. That time, it did happen, and the citizens voted to approve $8.4 million to build a new facility. 

The new shelter will be a part of the municipal complex to be built at Herfurth Park, which is expected to break ground this coming spring. It will be in close proximity to the dog park and surrounded by other park amenities. The complex will also contain the public safety building that will house both police headquarters and fire administration, so people can feel safe visiting the shelter and using the dog park. 

For me, the animal shelter is a very important part of this project. The current facility on Industrial is cramped and doesn't provide a good environment for the animals, despite the best efforts of animal services staff and our amazing volunteers. 

Animal services became a topic of controversy last year due to personnel changes that led to much social media discussion. It's important to understand that: 1) The city council has no authority when it comes to the hiring and firing of employees who are under the purview of the city manager. Those decisions are made by the department directors and ultimately upheld or overturned by the city manager, and 2) although the council may be given information about personnel decisions, that information is confidential, and we can't discuss it with the public. 

The council's role and power lie in:

• proposing and approving funding for new positions, equipment, supplies, and other shelter needs,
• initiating and passing legislation related to the regulation of animal ownership, treatment, and care, and
• setting governing policies (not operational policies) that determine such issues as kill/no kill status, hours of operation, etc. 

I have and will continue to be a strong advocate for our animals. One of many things I love about this city is the number of citizens who feel strongly about the creatures with whom we share this planet. We don't always all agree on everything, but we have that love of animals in common and I hope that common ground can bring us together to work for the benefit of the dogs, cats, and all the other pets and wildlife that we are so lucky to have here in Rowlett.