By Kurt Koopmann
Special to The Daily News
Published June 29, 2011
Recently, there have been several letters published regarding the provision of animal control services within Galveston County.
The Galveston County Health District would like to take this opportunity to explain how these services actually are provided in local jurisdictions, so residents will know where to direct inquiries and concerns.
Services overseen by the health district are provided through an interlocal agreement approved by Galveston County Commissioners and officials in the cities of Bayou Vista, Clear Lake Shores, Dickinson, Hitchcock, Kemah, La Marque, Santa Fe, Texas City and Tiki Island.
The two primary services are field services and sheltering.
Field services are performed by animal control officers who respond to calls from the public concerning stray and nuisance animals and bite incidents.
Many times, these officers will assist law enforcement investigating cases of animal cruelty.
Sheltering involves housing and providing care to the cats and dogs that animal control officers and residents bring to the shelter.
The health district is responsible for providing both of these services for the cities of Hitchcock, Bayou Vista, Dickinson, Santa Fe, Kemah, Clear Lake Shores, La Marque, Tiki Island and the unincorporated areas of Galveston County.
While Texas City is a part of the interlocal agreement, it’s important to note Texas City manages and oversees its own field services with city employees who are dispatched out of the Joe Vickery Animal Shelter.
As part of the interlocal agreement, animals that are brought in by Texas City animal control officers also are housed at the county’s shelter.
The cities of Friends-wood and League City provide their own control and sheltering services.
The city of Galveston provides its own control services and contracts with the Galveston Island Humane Society for shelter services.
In these cities, animal control officers report directly to the city and not the health district.
This is not — and never has been — an easy job.
When people call for services, they often want an immediate response. Unfortunately, animals don’t always cooperate to make quick solutions to problems possible.
When animal control officers reach a location, often the problem animal is nowhere to be found. Sometimes it will take multiple trips before stray animals are brought to the shelter.
The health district employs five animal control officers who respond to the entire area served by the health district, including Bolivar Peninsula.
Response time might vary greatly depending on the type of service request
For example, a bite case in one part of the county will be a priority and might take several hours to complete.
During that time, nonemergency calls, such as a loose animal not posing any danger, might not get an instant response.
Officers are assigned to different areas of the county to ensure coverage of all areas, but they might be called to other areas if high-priority calls come in.
We strive to answer all calls for service in a timely manner.
Animal control officers are available from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.
After these hours, an on-call animal control officer is available for emergencies if requested by local law enforcement.
An emergency is defined as an injured animal, an animal that has bitten a human or an animal that is an immediate threat to the public.
After hours, residents should call local law enforcement for assistance. Law enforcement might then contact animal control if the situation is deemed an emergency.
The health district processes more than 8,000 animals per year at the county’s shelter.
We find happy homes for many animals through our adoption program and work closely with various breed-specific groups to find loving homes for many more animals.
Our volunteer program finds us working with many dedicated animal lovers in the local community who donate their time and resources to make sure animals in the shelter are well taken care of.
A new Galveston County Animal Resource Center approved by voters in 2008 is under construction in Texas City and is expected to be completed this summer.
We’re working with local leaders, our own animal advisory council and volunteers to address resources that will be needed in order to fully utilize the new resource center.
This new facility will be state-of-the-art and is welcomed, but a new building alone does not address everything.
Pet owners still are the most important piece of the puzzle. All are asked to do their part by having their pets spayed or neutered and by following all animal regulations.
Residents also should know if they feed, care or allow an animal to remain on property for more than three days under current policy and regulation, they can be deemed the owner of the animal and be held responsible for any damage that animal might cause. For that reason, feeding stray animals is discouraged.
Owners also should register their pets with the appropriate agency for their jurisdiction and not allow animals to roam off property, to bark excessively or otherwise become a nuisance to neighbors.
Set an example by being a responsible pet owner.
Kurt Koopmann is the public information officer for the Galveston County Health District.
