By Kevin M. Smith
Killeen Daily Herald

Area residents lodged complaints to the Killeen Animal Advisory Committee on Wednesday claiming unfair treatment of animals at the city's shelter.

They called for policy revisions to keep wounded animals from suffering for days at the Killeen Animal Shelter. Three people – none from Killeen – addressed the committee during its meeting Wednesday morning.

"We ticket citizens of the community for not providing services to the animals," Paul Phipps II, of Copperas Cove, told the committee.

He then asked why the city's animal shelter was not held to those same standards. Phipps was referring to Killeen City Ordinance Chapter 6-38 (i): "No owner shall fail to provide his animal with veterinary care as may be necessary for diseased or injured animals."

The three who spoke at the meeting said the travesty is that an injured animal may sit at the shelter for three days without medical care if an owner does not claim it.

"The problem is they get very sick or injured animals, they hold them three or four days ... but don't provide medical care," Michaela Ramos, of Kempner, said in an interview.

Capt. Steve Hoskins, who was not at the meeting, said in an interview earlier this week that the Killeen Animal Shelter does not have the funds to address every injury or illness unless it is a life-threatening emergency.

"We at least maintain them in case the owner shows up and wants to take it to the vet," said Hoskins, who oversees the Killeen Police Department's Animal Control Division.

City ordinance Chapter 6-62, states that "unless stated otherwise," animals impounded must be kept no less than three working days unless claimed by the owner. The other provisions are if the animal has rabies or is "injured to the extent that it is past recovery, in the opinion of an animal control officer or police officer," Chapter 6-37 states. The ordinance goes on to state that the animal can be destroyed only after an attempt to locate the owner fails.

Reasons for change

Complaints arose after Ramos and Debra Ullrich, of Forgotten Friends mixed breed rescue in Austin, found two animals at the shelter last week with injuries. One case was a cat with an apparent broken jaw. Hoskins confirmed that and it was euthanized after the three-day period.

"It's not a life-threatening injury, it's a painful injury," Hoskins said about the cat's broken jaw.

Some would disagree. Dr. Laura Szeremi, of Banfield Pet Hospital in Killeen, said she considers a life-threatening emergency as bleeding, not breathing or a broken bone.

"Anything that's causing pain and suffering," said Szeremi, who is a member of the Animal Advisory Committee.

Ramos and Ullrich asked the city to change its ordinances and policies to allow for an animal in such a situation to be taken to a veterinarian, given pain medication for the three days or euthanized immediately to end its suffering.

Ramos cited another case. She adopted a dog from the Killeen Animal Shelter last week with a broken pelvis because it was the only way the animal would receive medical care, Ramos said. She has since taken the dog to a veterinarian.

"It was not considered an emergency ... the dog couldn't walk," Ramos told the committee.

Phipps adopted a dog from the Killeen Animal Shelter with a severe case of mange. George Fox, Animal Advisory Committee member and local animal activist, helped Phipps with the adoption.

"It was just bleeding all over the floor," Fox said. "The thing just sat back there and scratched itself crazy."

Fox said he also recently took a dog from the Killeen Animal Shelter to Banfield Pet Hospital to fix a broken foot.

"Something should have been done," Fox said.

How others do it

The city of Temple has similar policies as Killeen for stray animal care.

"We don't have a veterinarian on staff, and we have very limited taxpayer funds to pay for those medical materials," said Walter Hetzel, Temple's director of animal services.

Hetzel said funds would be depleted in a matter of days if Animal Control took every injured animal it picked up to a veterinarian. The shelter took in 326 animals in December.

Like Killeen, Temple keeps a stray animal three days for owners to claim before it is put up for adoption or euthanized. Hetzel said there is a provision that if the animal is suffering or has a disease, it can be put down before the end of the 72-hour period.

Sometimes, Hetzel said, it's difficult to determine if there is pain.

"We have many examples of animals that are injured, but to the best of our abilities do not see it suffering," Hetzel said.

At the CenTex Humane Society's Second Chance Animal Shelter in Killeen, President George Grammas said every animal is treated to the best of the shelter's abilities.

"As soon as somebody brings in an animal, we treat it right away," Grammas said.

Grammas said each animal goes through processing, which includes diagnostic tests, vaccinations, wellness checks and spaying or neutering. That's all at a cost of more than $100.

"Whatever it takes," Grammas said.

He said veterinarians visit the shelter weekly to check on animals.

"This is what we have to do for the humane treatment of animals," Grammas said.

He said some local veterinarians give discounts for surgeries.

"A lot of dogs need a lot of extra care," Grammas said.

That's why the shelter thrives on donations.

"In many cases, we lose money," Grammas said.

Policy changes

The Killeen Animal Control Department's standard operating procedure is undergoing review and potential changes, Hoskins said, which is part of the accreditation process. He said a board consisting of himself, Fox, Animal Control Supervisor Debbie Darnell, Police Chief Dennis Baldwin and Deputy Chief Larry Longwell will review the policies. He said the board is consulting local veterinarians.

"We're looking for professional input," Hoskins said.

He said there is nothing specific in the policy that the board is considering.

"We're going to review our policy on how we actually care for the animals while they are in our custody," Hoskins said.

Hoskins said he expects to have the policy revisions complete within 30 days.

There is no state standard for treatment of injured or sick animals, said Beverlee Nix, zoonosis control veterinarian for Region 7 of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

"Most of these statutes are written broadly and vaguely," said Nix, whose region includes 30 counties in Central Texas. "It's pretty broad strokes."

She said some shelters are well-established and have groups that raise funds for them, while others rely solely on tax dollars.

"This gets down to what taxpayers are willing to pay for," Nix said.

Szeremi agreed the Killeen policy needs change.

"I think there's a variety of solutions," Szeremi said.

Among the solutions, she said, is for the city to establish better working relationships with local veterinarians for discounted medical care.

Fox said the issue of medical care for animals at the shelter will be on the agenda for the Animal Advisory Committee's Feb. 20 meeting. Meanwhile, advocates said they will continue to do what they can for the injured animals.

"Nobody speaks for them, so I do," Ramos told the committee.

Contact Kevin M. Smith at ksmith@kdhnews.com or call (254) 501-7550

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