Dallas plans a new crackdown on stray dogs that plague many neighborhoods, especially in the southern part of the city.
The Dallas City Council Quality of Life Committee heard the new plan Monday after earlier complaints from councilmembers that previous plans lacked ways to measure progress.
Beginning November 1, this plan targets five neighborhoods with the worst stray animal problems for a month of intense animal control patrol, rotating to another five the next month.
Assistant Dallas City Manager Joey Zapata said owners may lose animals that violate city rules and officers look for problems in those areas instead of just responding to calls.
“We’re going to make sure that it’s registered, that it’s vaccinated, that it’s fully code compliant. And if it isn’t, it could lead to either surrender or citations,” he said.
An eight square block neighborhood near Overton Road and Easter Avenue is the number one target zone with 83 calls for service, 42 animal in-takes and nine citations written in the past six months.
Average Dallas Animal Control response time on calls for service to the neighborhood during that period was a slow 108 minutes.
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Resident Francis Gilkey said she has called Animal Control before.
“But they don’t come that quick. It’s like they take their time, and then when they come, they don’t try to catch them. They don’t care. They act like they’re just on the clock,” she said.
Dallas City Councilmember Scott Griggs was critical of past plans and still had concerns after Monday’s briefing.
“I remain unsatisfied,” Griggs said. “All of the metrics are still to-be-determined, as we saw on the charts. And these are still to-be-determined metrics for very small areas.”
Griggs said the target areas are ‘postage stamp size’ and not part of his City Council District One is included.
Dog bite victim Charlie Howell lives in District One and he was disappointed to learn the initial crackdown does not include his neighborhood.
“That makes me think those other areas must be really, really bad,” he said.
Howell said he was walking his dogs just two blocks from his North Oak Cliff home when a stray pit bull attacked.
“The most bothersome thing to me is, this is not a new thing. My wife and I have separated our dogs probably in six or seven dog fights in the past few years. It gets old,” Howell said.
City officials said two of the existing seven animal control vehicles on patrol each day will be assigned to spend about two days a week in each of the five target zones. The plan leaves five animal control vehicles to cover the rest of Dallas at most times.
“And so I’m concerned about putting so many resources in a very small area,” Griggs said. “What’s going to happen in the rest of the city?”
Other councilmembers said data on past response to the target areas, which was included in the briefing, will provide a way to compare progress in the future.
“It’s starting to really come together. I like the target area metrics,” said Councilman Adam McGough.
City officials said irresponsible pet owners are the primary cause of the Dallas stray animal problem and resident Frances Gilkey agreed. She welcomed the animal control enforcement effort.
“I’m going to be looking,” she said. “I’m going to be looking for them.”
Animal Control officers will provide education during the enforcement patrols.
“I think this is a great opportunity for us to go right to the hot spot to do the education component there,” Councilman Rick Callahan said. “But we’re also needing really five if not seven days a week coverage instead rather than just a couple of days a week.”
An increase in the Dallas Animal Control budget this year is aimed at raising salaries to keep good employees and hiring more to increase the staff.
There are currently 41 vacancies at Dallas Animal Services, which officials expect to have filled next month. The staff includes workers at the main shelter on Westmoreland Road at Interstate 30 where turnover is high.
Additional Animal Control Officers are expected to be on-duty by spring.
“That’s when the cavalry arrives,” Code Compliance Director Kris Sweckard told the committee. “Starting in April we’ll be able to deploy the Southern Dallas initiative you all approved as part of the budget process.”
Details on a larger Southern Dallas initiative will be developed later with results from the target zone crackdown.
Monday’s briefing also said the city hopes to open a second shelter somewhere in Southeast Dallas.
Existing city buildings are being evaluated as possible locations for renovation to speed the process.
Qol 3 Dallas Animal Services Update Combined 102615 (Text)
