Animal Control will become independent agency, commissioners decide

Victoria County Animal Control Services will separate from the county Public Health Department and become its own agency, Victoria County commissioners decided on Monday.

“We’re setting Animal Control up to be able to evolve and adapt,” Victoria County Judge Ben Zeller said in the public hearing.

Due to the large number of stray dogs and cats found in the county, it would be easier for the office to be its own entity, commissioners decided. A search will start soon for someone to run the organization.

Animal Control has been linked with the Public Health Department for decades. With the demands from COVID-19 and other health issues, the health department needed to be separated, Michael Atkinson, who chairs the Victoria County Animal Control Advisory Committee, told the court.

“We need to be able to adopt animals out more quickly,” Atkinson said. “There is a much larger role in the steps that need to be taken.”

Victoria County Animal Control responds to animal complaints both in Victoria and the unincorporated county. These complaints include loose dogs, loose livestock, barking dogs, animals trapped in live traps, aggressive dogs, animal bites and dead animals. And in accordance with state law, all animal bites must be reported to Animal Control.

The Animal Control Services Department would be under the direction of the Commissioners Court. The Commissioners Court would appoint a liaison from the Court to oversee the day-to-day operations until a more structured division can be created.

The changes underway at Animal Control include the extension of hours at its office and adoption facility at 122 Perimeter Road in Victoria. Hours at Victoria County Animal Control will be extended to 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, to allow families more time to see the animals ready for adoption. Hours also may be extended on Saturdays.

In addition, a new vaccination program has been initiated for “intake” dogs and cats at Animal Control. Based on a six-month study associated with Pets Alive of Austin, the privately funded program is designed to verify the efficacy of specific vaccinations given when animals arrive at Animal Control to prevent or reduce illnesses at the facility.

Animal Control will provide monthly reports to Pets Alive. The vaccinations include parvo, distemper and bordetella vaccinations for dogs. Feline viral rhinotracheitis , feline calicivirus and feline panleukopenia vaccinations will be provided for cats.

Any animals brought to the facility will now be microchipped so the owner, if there is one, can be identified. Atkinson told commissioners there was a major feral cat problem in Victoria. He said even though more than 10,000 stray cats had been trapped and neutered, it “hardly made a dent.”

Zeller said 90% of the animal pickups handled by Animal Control were in the city of Victoria.