A group of concerned citizens paid for a half-page advertisement to run in Sunday’s edition of the Conroe Courier, asking Conroe Mayor Duke Coon to hire trained personnel to run the city’s shelter.
The ad features an intake photo of then 3-month-old Casey, a heeler mix who came in over the summer with a leg injury that required amputation. He received no veterinary care and over the course of three days, chewed off his own foot.
OUR PREVIOIS COVERAGE: ‘Unacceptable:’ Investigation opened into company that runs Conroe Animal Shelter after puppy chews off injured leg
While he was saved in time by a private rescue and has since been adopted, his story spurred an investigation into the company, Care Corporation, which was contracted to care for the animals.
Care Corporation was terminated weeks later when the city announced they had evidence of a number of animal care violations on their watch. With Care Corporation gone, the Conroe Police Department has been running the shelter. Advocates say that needs to change.
“I hope the citizens of Conroe don’t settle for what minimum care the City wants to provide for our homeless pets in our community,” said Chris Del Greco, longtime animal welfare advocate who was part of the group who funded the newspaper ad. “The police department doesn’t know how to navigate this field. They don’t run animal shelters. We want someone with experience and we’re not getting that.”
Last month, city council voted against a proposal from Texas Litter Control. The nonprofit would have taken over care of shelter animals, including round-the-clock veterinary care, a reduced-cost clinic for the community and TNR (trap-neuter-release) for community cats. With the Police Department taking over, advocates say they’re concerned they lack the expertise necessary.
They say a perfect example of that is a puppy that a good Samaritan brought in two weeks ago. The puppy had a broken leg and shelter personnel offered to euthanize it, but did not offer to first scan for a microchip.
Conroe Interim Police Chief, Lee Tipton, admitted his staff was wrong to not check for a chip and says doing so is now part of the protocol. The good Samaritan ended up taking the puppy home and fundraising for his surgery. He’s now recovering with a medical foster and will be up for adoption with a private rescue when he recovers.
