The Austin Animal Center has a new five-year plan in place that city officials say is aimed at improving and enhancing operations after years of complaints and issues.
Since the city adopted its no-kill policy in 2011, the shelter has met its goal of 90% or more animals leaving the shelter alive. But that has come at a cost, as the shelter has struggled with chronic overcapacity and staffing issues for years. While the issues can be cited to as early as 2015, Don Bland, who took over as chief animal services officer in 2019, has led the city's shelter for a majority of the years the shelter has struggled. He has faced criticism in recent years for his running of the shelter, including "providing confusing, misleading or incomplete reports" to the city.
The city's Animal Advisory Commission held a vote of no-confidence in Bland in June 2022. Those concerns prompted a city audit in 2023 that determined the shelter "failed to provide appropriate care to all of its animals."
Bland continued to run the shelter until he was put on administrative leave in early March. The city has not said why he was on leave. He announced his retirement last week. His last day is May 9. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Jason Garza, deputy chief animal services officer, will act in his place until further notice. He was not available for comment. City officials said Garza will oversee day-to-day operations and help implement the new plan.
The Austin City Council adopted the strategic plan on March 27, and said it will address concerns identified in that 2023 audit, though some action has already happened. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson included funding for two full-time and one part -time shelter staff members in the latest budget.
“The new Animal Services Strategic Plan provides a needed roadmap, highlighting objectives and opportunities that will build a stronger, more efficient animal services system and prioritizes exceptional service and humane treatment for all of Austin’s animals," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a written statement.
The plan does not lay out a timeline. But city officials said that the shelter is figuring out what changes can be made quickly. Improving communication — internally and with the public — is one area where changes are already underway, according to city officials. Other actions to implement the plan will come as the city makes money available in the budget and policy changes are approved.
Here are five priorities the shelter has identified:
Improving mental and physical care
Elizabeth Ferrer, a spokesperson with the city’s Animal Services Office, said many of the animals come from homes where they have not been socialized to interact with other animals or humans. Some have also been abused, which can make them aggressive.
Last February, the city council approved changes to the shelter’s rules that made it easier for more aggressive dogs to be euthanized. But city rules state that no more than 5% of animals can be euthanized, so the shelter’s behavior team works with these animals.
“They teach the basic skills set that they need in order to be in a home either with other animals, or even just with other people, like men or kids,” Ferrer said. "We have thousands of animals coming in and out, and so we are always working to find ways to help not just animals we have here at the shelter, but also people fostering or adopting these animals.”
The new plan calls for enhancing those socialization and behavior programs already in place, upgrading animal and staff spaces, and keeping the facilities and kennels clean.
Increasing access to spay and neuter
The shelter plans to increase free and subsidized spay and neuter services for animals in the shelter and well as services available to pet owners in the city. Animal services officials said spaying and neutering reduces the number of stray and unowned animals.
Addressing capacity
The shelter has been at critical capacity for the last few weeks, meaning its ability to take in lost or stray animals is severely restricted, especially for medium to large dogs.
Ferrer said one of the ways to help with overcrowding is through fostering, a program that brings animals into homes until they get adopted.
“We provide training and supplies like food and a bed, and if an animal needs veterinary care we can provide care [on-site] or give them vouchers for care, and we can also provide help with medication,” she said.
The program's goal is to raise awareness and increase the number of foster families.
The shelter also helps pet owners keep their animals instead of surrendering them. The plan aims to expand resources for common barriers, including pet rent and deposits, fencing services and food.
Adding more space is also a top priority. Ferrer said the shelter wants to add square footage to its existing facility and create a separate adoption center.
"We don't just need more space for holding more animals, we need more space for the other programs that we run," Ferrer said.
Improving partnerships and customer experience
The plan also calls for maximizing the number of animals that are adopted, rescued, transferred or returned to their owners.
The shelter works with several organizations that help get animals adopted or transferred. The 2023 audit pointed to strained relationships with some of its partners, and the new plan aims to repair and grow them.
Partners raised concerns about Bland's leadership of the shelter, including issues around communication and transparency, especially when it comes to how many dogs are being euthanized and how many are being adopted.
Ellen Jefferson, president and CEO of Austin Pets Alive! — the city's largest partner in pet transfers — said making sure dogs are leaving the shelter to good homes was the group's primary concern.
"This strategic plan will help the City of Austin move forward with prioritizing life saving of animals and Austin Pets Alive! is proud to contribute to live outcomes of more than 95% of the animals that enter the municipal shelter," she said in a written statement.
Ferrer said the shelter is also committed to increasing transparency around shelter data, including adoption rates, euthanasia rates and current capacity. This month the shelter is moving over to a new data system that will make those key statistics more visible.
The Austin Humane Society — the city's second largest partner — can house up to 30-40 dogs at a time, which limits the organization's ability to take a large amount of dogs when the center is in crisis, said Sarah Hammel, a spokesperson for the group.
"We physically don't have the ability to take 20-30 dogs from them in one pull," she said. "And it was felt like that was kind of what the ask was. Pull as many large dogs to help us, but it simply wasn't within our capacity."
The humane society does help with the spay and neuter programs for cats, and said it is glad to see the plan recognizes that it takes "a village" to solve these problems because it didn't necessarily feel their contributions were acknowledged before.
The plan also includes improving the adoption and rescue process so animals are not returned to the shelter or end up as strays. Waiving adoption fees, which can be a barrier for some families, can also help encourage adoptions. The shelter will also offer more resources and access to information in multiple languages.
Recruit and retain staff, volunteers
The city’s shelter is run by more than 120 staff members but relies on almost 1,000 volunteers to help fill the gaps. Ferrer said the new plan calls for supporting staff and ensuring healthy work conditions through pay equity, incentives and team building programs and opportunities for career development.
