A dog peeks through the fence at the Floydada Animal Shelter in December 2021. (Alex Driggars/Floyd County Record)
FLOYDADA — Since she was appointed about a year and a half ago, Floydada Animal Shelter Director Cassandra Garza has made huge strides towards bringing the animal overpopulation situation in the city under control, but she still has a long way to go and can’t do it alone, she says.
Garza gave an update at a recent Floydada City Council meeting on Dec. 14.
Garza touted the shelter’s recent accomplishments, telling the council that 475 dogs and cats have been saved from the shelter in the last 18 months. Rather than euthanizing these unclaimed animals, Garza said they were all transported out of the county to animal rescues across the U.S. and even to Canada for fostering and adoption. The resulting decline in euthanasia is perhaps the most impressive statistic that Garza presented.
“So far, our shelter’s doing really well. We’ve gone from probably a 98 percent euthanasia rate to nearly zero,” Garza said.
Garza noted that the shelter has also rescued 22 full litters and 17 partial litters of puppies and eight full litters of kittens during that same time period.
“There was one point where Oscar and I had four litters of puppies in our guest bedroom,” Garza said.
In addition, Garza said she is planning low-cost microchipping, vaccination and spay and neuter clinics for the spring, which she said are incredibly important since Floyd County does not have a local veterinarian.
However admirable the shelter’s recent developments, Garza says that the program still has many more challenges ahead.
“There are a lot of areas for improvement,” Garza said.
Sharing a few statistics with the council, Garza noted that only around 4 percent of animals that wind up in the Floydada shelter are reclaimed, far below the U.S. average of just under 13 percent. Of the intakes the shelter has taken this year, Garza said that only three dogs were microchipped, and only one of those contained correct and up-to-date information.
Garza also shared that she has seen a number of cases of abuse and neglect, animal hoarding and illegal breeding in Floydada and receives multiple tips every day from concerned citizens reporting similar cases.
Katelyn Vega, a senior at Floydada Collegiate High School and volunteer at the animal shelter, told the council about one of her experiences with animal hoarding on her first day volunteering, when she and Garza were relocating animals from a house in town.
“It was very traumatizing, because I have never seen that many cats in my life,” Vega said. “They hoarded them, and it was sad, and it was disgusting.”
Vega said that some of the kittens she removed from the house were dead, and that the whole experience opened her eyes to a situation she never knew existed.
“I didn’t realize this was a huge problem in my hometown,” Vega said. “I have lived here all my life, and yes, we always see all these dogs running around, but I never really payed attention to the problem until I met Cassandra.”
Garza and city attorney Karen Houchin called on the council for input and support, reminding them that an animal control program will not be successful without the council’s backing.
Garza reminded the council that the City of Floydada does not employ a full-time animal control officer — only one part-time dog catcher — and explained that she and her husband, animal shelter volunteers, and even the city manager and other city employees were out catching strays. (Garza noted that Oscar Mayer wieners work best for luring chihuahuas.)
In fact, chasing stray dogs is only one of a number of “above and beyond” duties that Garza takes on. She estimates that she works 32 to 46 hours each week on animal welfare — outside of her regular, full-time job — transporting animals to vet appointments, picking up strays and cleaning kennels. Her husband Oscar Garza said that they even wake up at 3 a.m. some weekends to transport rescues to Amarillo. All of that welfare work is pro bono; Animal Shelter Director is a volunteer position and Ms. Garza receives no pay for that work.
“Just so you have an visual of what her day is actually like: a full day of work, 8-4 most of the time, 8-5 sometimes, 8-6 sometimes, and then Saturdays she’s up at 3 o’clock in the morning,” Mr. Garza said.
“Sometimes there’s a lot on her plate and she’s steady trying to do more,” Mr. Garza said. “She’s trying to do everything she can for Floydada. She’s a volunteer. She can’t do it all.”
Additionally, the shelter’s budget is minimal, Houchin said. The fiscal year 2022 city budget only includes $1,000 for animal control supplies including traps, pens and maintenance, and this year a $1,700 line item for animal food included in last year’s budget was dropped.
“I’m afraid you may not like this part, but I think you’re gonna have to expend some money to make some of this happen,” Houchin said. “(Cassandra is) paying as much as $1,800 at a time out of her pocket,” she added.
Besides support, Garza and Houchin said that the biggest need right now is to codify the city’s expectations for pet owners. Houchin noted that the city’s hands are tied on enforcement of the animal problem because there is currently no ordinance on the books to enforce. She said that the council’s input would be important as she crafts the new codes.
The council brainstormed restrictions to include in the ordinance, with Garza stressing that registration and vetting are crucial to the success of an animal control plan. She defined “fully vetted” as an animal having received all required vaccinations, spaying or neutering and microchipping.
“One unspayed female and one unneutered male can produce 512 dogs or 382 in three years,” Garza added, illustrating the importance of spaying and neutering. “The cycle will never end if we don’t make changes.”
Garza said that the shelter is currently looking for volunteers to help with rescue transports; more information on volunteering is available by calling City Hall at (806) 983-2834. An Amazon Wishlist is also available at this link.
