Homeless
Pets
No-kill in Texas
Would you believe that hundreds of cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies are found as strays each and every single month just in the Clear Lake area? What would you say if you knew that out 100 of those animals, there would be the possibility that 25 would be killed? That’s where pet adoption and no-kill shelters come into play.
According to Best Friends, a leader in the no-kill movement, in 2019 Texas had a 76.7% save rate. That means that 1 out of every 4 rescued stray animal is put down. The statistics are staggering: only 169 out of 692 communities had no-kill shelters. Furthermore, 696,000 cats and dogs entered shelters and of those, 534,000 were saved. Out of those rescued, 97,000 cats and dogs were killed. If more of Texas had no-kill status, we could save more of those animals lives.
Health Issues Related to Strays
Cities must deal with nuisance calls dealing with feral cats, stray dogs, and dog bites. Most dog bites involve unneutered free-range male dogs when they’re being attracted to unspayed females. Naturally, the frenzy of a female dog in heat, and unneutered males increases the risk of a dog bite. It’s highly possible that these strays carry diseases like rabies. If a person gets bit by a stray dog, they need to go to the hospital and get a tetanus shot.
When dogs and cats aren’t being spayed and neutered, that contributes to the problem of an ever expanding population of dogs and cats (not just strays). We all need to be responsible pet owners and make sure that all of our animals get spayed and neutered. When animals are on the street and don’t receive vaccinations and other medical treatments, they’re more likely to pass on those illnesses to other animals, including their litters.
Dealing with Strays
Cities must deal with nuisance calls dealing with feral cats, stray dogs, and dog bites. Most dog bites involve unneutered free-range male dogs when they’re being attracted to unspayed females. Naturally, the frenzy of a female dog in heat, and unneutered males increases the risk of a dog bite. It’s highly possible that these strays carry diseases like rabies. If a person gets bit by a stray dog, they may need to go to the hospital and get a tetanus shot.
If you combine all of the cities and municipalities that compromise Clear Lake (Clear Lake City, Clear Lake Shores, El Lago, Kemah, League City, Nassau Bay, Seabrook, Taylor Lake Village, Webster, and parts of Houston and Pasadena) you wind up with the second-largest master-planned community in the city of Houston. That’s a population of approximately 142,000 people and a potential for a lot of stray animals that we could otherwise control.
Most of these municipalities have some level of animal control systems and facilities. That means that they constantly get bombarded with reports of stray animals. If they have animal control officers on staff, they’ll send one out to capture the animal. Some of those same municipalities also have shelters. Unfortunately, not all of them are no-kill facilities.
In some cases a rescue operation like Gulf Coast Tiny Paws Rescue will be called in and we’ll help retrieve a stray dog or cat, help with medical, and provide a temporary foster home to prepare the animal for adoption. We then evaluate the animal, take care of any discovered health issues, and then place them in the care of one of our capable foster homes. Depending on the age and condition of the animal, they may or may not immediately be available for adoption. We will first do our best to get the animal as clean as possible. We may then need to treat the animal for various diseases including worms, infected wounds, fleas and ticks, and tummy issues. Normally, we’ll also want to evaluate the animal to make sure they don’t have any terminal illnesses. We want our animals to be in top condition and available for adoption only when they’re in top form.
Help us control the stray animal population by reporting loose animals to either your city, a local shelter, a local rescue operation. Or if you’re in the Clear Lake area, help avoid animals in shelters by adopting a sweet cat or dog. Find a pet today!