I have been serving as a volunteer at the Levelland Animal Shelter for over a year now and I have brought my concerns to the attention of the city manager and the mayor, and unfortunately, my concerns have not been addressed. Thus, I am writing this letter to the editor in the hopes that you all, the citizens of Levelland, will see the unjust actions of those in charge and take action yourselves.
The first incident I want to bring to your attention that actually motivated me to write this letter happened on September 9. Eighteen innocent puppies were euthanized to “bring in strays,” while simultaneously stating they would no longer accept dogs surrendered by their owners, or puppies. I was told, “it’s all about cleaning up the stray dogs.”
For those who may be unaware, there are 16 kennels at the shelter. Twelve of those kennels were in use on September 9. The puppies in question took up four of those 12 kennels. Thus, there were four OPEN kennels, as well. Every dog in the shelter was euthanized, except six. So, that means the shelter euthanized 20 dogs in just a few hours.
This is a firsthand account, as previously mentioned, I volunteer at the shelter regularly. Later that same day, 10 kennels sat empty and 20 dogs were dead.
Not to mention, prior to the euthanization a local animal advocacy group expended its own resources to vaccinate all 18 puppies and promote their adoption on social media. This is hours of work by volunteers, all for nothing.
Prior to the euthanizations, I had asked if the shelter would cooperate with an event that weekend to try and get some puppies adopted out. Unfortunately, I was told no, twice. Instead, they killed the puppies two days later.
Meanwhile, citizens and rescues are told that the best way to contact the animal control officers if they are interested in adopting, fostering, or rescuing a dog is through Facebook Messenger. However, I have been told repeatedly by those who attempt contact this way that they receive no reply.
This means that owners who are attempting to reclaim a dog are forced to jump through hoops to get their pet back. This process typically looks like the citizen contacting dispatch, calling the shelter, texting the animal control officers, and Facebook Messenger, meanwhile praying and hoping that their dog isn’t tagged for euthanization.
While the shelter maintains regular hours throughout the week, it is a rare occurrence to find an animal control officer at the shelter during these times. Currently, the shelter is closed on the weekends but offer the respite that they will meet citizens interested in adopting or reclaiming a pet at the shelter by appointment.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for a man who traveled to Levelland specifically to adopt a dog. He asked the shelter repeatedly to tag the animal, ensuring it would be ready for him when he arrived. He made an appointment for that Sunday, but when he got to the shelter at the agreed-upon time, there was no answer. When he finally made contact with someone, he was informed the dog he was there to pick up had been adopted out. This was a lie. The dog had been euthanized.
This story is one of the saddest incidents, not only for the pup that lost its life needlessly, but also for the man who had his heart set on this companion, only to find out he was a second too late—despite making contact and an appointment with the appropriate sources.
How many animals have to die due to a lack of communication, effort, and an overall absence of humanity?
And lastly, there is no need for a larger shelter. Why should the city utilize taxpayer dollars to build a bigger facility when we can’t maintain the facility we currently operate? It is not a good solution to add more cages and more opportunities to euthanize more dogs when we have the resources available now to vaccinate, spay and neuter animals, and find them loving homes.
There is an animal crisis happening in Texas. Texas is one of the few states without spay and neuter laws, and because of this, the animals pay the price. This is compounded by a staff at our local animal shelter that does not care how many dogs it must kill to maintain minimal effort and minimal resources.
While I continue to hope and pray that our local leaders will recognize the problem and have some compassion for volunteers like myself who are mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted, I am none too optimistic. However, I know that I am the only voice these animals have and without people like me, more will continue to die for no reason at all. There are resources out there, there are rescues that want to help, there are people who want to adopt, but they have to be met halfway. Right now, the Levelland Animal Shelter isn’t even showing up.
One simple solution would be for the shelter to reopen on the weekends. In a past meeting with city officials, I was assured this would happen. Again, unfortunately, it has not. If the shelter could facilitate just one day—even a half day—on the weekends to allow citizens and rescues access to the shelter, it could mean the difference between life and death for many dogs.
I urge you, if you were moved by a word I said in this letter, or if you are interested in seeing the numbers yourself, contact me or come volunteer at the shelter. It won’t take you very long to see with your own eyes what is happening. I wish this weren’t the case, because maybe if it were, more citizens would have the stomach and the gall to come help.
One thing you can do is reach out to your local leaders. Show up to the city council meetings and let your voice be heard. Tell them you are not okay with this complete and utter lack of empathy and lack of effort. We are better than this and together we can make a difference.