Animal neglect is an issue worldwide. Issues can range from wild animals to domesticated animals. These animals depend on humans for their needs and for a voice as they cannot defend themselves. It is an issue that demands more attention and action from communities. We as humans need to advocate for their rights and the humane treatment of animals as they often face abuse, neglect and exploitation. There is a large population of pets in El Paso and animal issues are prevalent in the borderland area. In this article, I will be discussing the importance of advocating for animals and how that can directly impact the overcrowding of El Paso’s animal shelters. El Paso Animal Services holds several events in order to promote adoption and fostering services to help with the issues that they are facing.
Domesticated animals whether its dogs, cats or other forms of pets can play a vital role in many households. These animals develop strong bonds with their human families while also providing companionship and love. In many cases, dogs are capable of being trained to alert their handler of their medical issue they need to attend to immediately or possibly help a disabled person get around as they need to. Animals are not only smart and capable but they play such an integral role in many people’s lives. To imagine there is a world where people are okay with neglecting these voiceless beings is disheartening but unfortunately it is a reality. Nationwide, animal cruelty is an issue that is rampant at an alarming rate. More often than not animal cruelty cases do not get reported, making it difficult to calculate just how common they are. Animal abuse is a crime in Texas and can be charged as a Class A misdemeanor or state jail felony and can be punished by a $10,000 fine depending on the nature of the offense. Forty-nine states have laws to provide felony penalties for animal cruelty on the first offense. Animal cruelty can be classified as organized cruelty such as dogfighting or intentional cruelty. According to The Humane Society of the United States, the most common victims that are “often reported are dogs, cats, horses and livestock.”
Image caption: Rescued Pup Buddy Turned Therapy Companion
(Courtesy of Law N Paws, Facebook)
The borderland is not immune to these issues. There was such an increase in reported cases of beaten, malnourished and starving dogs in 2017 that the El Paso Police department had to create a team now called The Animal Cruelty Investigative Unit to better address these issues. The team was initially started with a sergeant, four detectives and an officer. It all started with Detective Vanessa Acosta, an adamant animal lover, who was often assigned animal cruelty cases where most of them result with the animal passing away at the time of the report. In 2016 she was assigned a case with a Labrador mixed dog that had a four-inch collar embedded into her neck. Fortunately, the animal survived and was able to get taken in by El Paso Animal Services. Since this was her first case where the animal survived, she decided to foster the dog amongst herself and loved ones while the shelter found her a new home. Out of her own pocket, she provided all medical treatment and care. Shortly after, she was assigned another animal cruelty case with a Saint Bernard dog who also had another collar embedded in his neck. She fostered him and provided him with medical treatment and care. Word got around town that she was helping these animals and got offered by Walmart to do a fundraiser in order to receive donations but was advised that she needed to be registered as a notf-or-profit organization first. From there she created Law N’ Paws which is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals in the borderland area. “You need to be passionate about the cause in order to do this type of work,” says Acosta.
Since the El Paso Police Department did not have a specific unit to deal with animal cruelty cases, she advocated for creating an investigative unit dedicated to fighting animal cruelty. Police officers are not able to deal with these cases as they cannot do criminal cases for animal cruelty. Only a detective or peace officer is able to handle these cases as investigation does take time, including fieldwork, interviewing neighbors, and getting warrants for removal of animals. She was able to research the severity of animal cruelty in the borderland area and came to find out more often than not there were underreported crimes against animals as in most cases the abuser is the owner. She presented her research to Police Chief Greg Allen who also was an animal lover himself and in turn created the investigative unit in October 2017, only a month after establishing Law N’ Paws. Now crimes against animals are taken more seriously and put in a higher priority with the Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit in action. There are certain procedures that are needed to take place when trying to remove an animal from its home. Detectives are not able to just remove an animal since they are considered private property of the owner so either they have to be surrendered or detectives need to obtain a warrant granted by a judge after presenting evidence of neglect. Acosta mentions, “People need to be good reporters
A lot of people don't want to get involved when they witness animal abuse either due to retaliation or because it’s their neighbor, but there are laws set to protect them as a witnesses. Take pictures and report to be the voice for these animals.” Although the option of reporting an animal cruelty case anonymously is available to civilians, Acosta advises to leave a name when reporting because there are cases where detectives follow through with a home check after receiving a report and the animal may not have had any visible injuries. With anonymous reports, detectives are unable to take any action or follow up on any interviews and providing a name can definitely help in cases like these. To report any neglected animals, Acosta advises people to call 311 instead of 911 or the El Paso Police Department as they are dispatchers for El Paso Animal Services and they can take action. The alternative line at the El Paso Police Department, 915-212-0800, acts more like a tip line and is nonemergency as they only answer during office hours.
There are several animal rescues in El Paso, the most popular being El Paso Animal Services and Law N’ Paws. Both of these specific organizations dedicate themselves to providing care and shelter for animals in the area with the main goal being focused on finding new forever homes for these abandoned or abused animals. Law N Paws does not receive any funding from the city as they do have to apply for grants, host fundraisers, and ask for donations from the community. The organization often collaborates with other rescues such as El Paso Animal Services but because these rescues are limited in resources and have strict guidelines when sheltering animals, they often need to take action into their own hands. In cases of animal cruelty, there are times when the animals are in need of immediate medical attention, most of the time involving more sophisticated procedures such as surgery. The city-funded shelter is unable to provide that level of care, leading to them having to euthanize the animal as it is just as cruel to have them suffer in pain. Law N’ Paws uses donations and funds they raise to be able to provide medical procedures necessary to save an animal’s life. Their overall mission is to be able to provide second chances to both abandoned and neglected animals. Law N’ Paws also directly works with the Animal Investigative Unit to help bring justice to the voiceless animals.
Aside from providing medical treatment, they focus on rehabilitation and fostering with the end goal being adoption. When it comes to adoption, Acosta says they are very strict with their process. First starting off with having an application for inquiries, then a meet and greet is set up where they can meet the applicant as well as home checks to make sure it is a proper environment. They have strict adoption contracts they require applicants to sign in order to avoid the risk of these animals ending up in an abusive situation or them returning the adopted animals. “It is necessary to take these strict measures; most people are not interested because of what we ask for but we cannot allow these animals to end up in the same place they just got rescued from,” says Acosta. They also provide micro chipping, vaccinations and foster services.
Law N’ Paws is a rescue partner with El Paso Animal Services. When a report is made with 311 and is an animal cruelty case, they reach out to rescues but most rescues are very specific on which animals they shelter because they are mostly fostered based and abused animals require rehabilitation. That’s where Law N’ Paws comes in. The not-for-profit organization often holds adoption events where they also provide their other services. They are partnered with Petsmart and Walmart and have at least one or two events a month while also going on the local news to promote their adoptable rescues.
Acosta also shared her most proud success story yet. Buddy is a survivor of animal cruelty and is now a service animal working at the El Paso Courthouse. He specializes in helping children who are victims of crimes and have to testify. He himself was a victim of animal cruelty where he was tethered to an iron rod window on top of a little plank for ten hours. Neighbors called and reported this abuse, and he was seized from the owners as they did not want to surrender Buddy. Acosta was able to get a warrant granted from a judge in order to seize and rescue him. She eventually got possession of Buddy. The former District Attorney, Yvonne Rosales, who is also a huge animal lover, wanted to recruit a rescue to work at the courthouse. “He went from rags to riches. I am so proud of how far Buddy has come. It is an honor to have a success story like him, to have him help and provide emotional support to those children,” says Acosta. She goes on to explain that Buddy goes to work every day with his handler, who is an employee at Victims Services at the courthouse, and he went through a four-month service training program and graduated. He now has his own office and his own badge.
El Paso Animal Services is one of the city’s two shelters available for animals. They provide many services other than just shelter as they have a fostering and adoption program. Although they receive funding from the city, resources are limited which can lead them to face some issues at the shelter. There are many reasons for dogs to end up in shelters. I was able to speak with Julie Noble from El Paso Animal Services about these issues. Most of the common reports are not necessarily strays but pets that became lost and they weren’t microchipped or in most cases the contact information associated with the microchip had not been updated. Noble mentions that a lot of pets that come to the shelter show signs that they are owned because of how they act with people. “A lot of them come trained, even potty trained. You can tell they’ve had an affiliation with a home and for either of those reasons we’re unable to get in contact with owners,” says Noble.
Overcrowding at the shelter directly impacts animals. El Paso Animal Services advocates strongly for adoption since there is an overpopulation of unhoused pets. During the COVID pandemic, the shelter received a high influx of pets. Overcrowding can cause severe stress for pets and it is easier for disease to spread with a large number of animals in one area. El Paso Animal Services is always trying to control the number of animals they take in so they are able to manage anticipated dogs that are coming to avoid stressing out animals that are already in their care. El Paso Animal Services asks community members to always do their research when welcoming a new pet into their home. It is necessary in order to be able to provide the best life for the pet as it is a lifetime commitment. “Animals are not disposable beings. They are someone you treat as a family member,” says Noble. Each breed has a variety of different needs and requires specific lifestyles, and people need to make sure they can provide that type of lifestyle needed for the pet to thrive.
Noble also mentions that civilians can do their own part to contribute and donate to rescues in El Paso. For their own pets, El Paso Animal Services advises community members to neuter their pets in order to avoid an accidental litter. Neutering your pets can also help reduce risk and prevent cancer and diseases long term. They also advocate that community members have their pets updated on vaccinations and boosters in order for their pets and other pets in the community can remain healthy. Vaccinations and boosters are useful to prevent the spread of diseases within the community whether it’s at the dog park, groomers, or boarding places. Micro chipping is another thing El Paso Animal Services advocates for. “A lot of people think that when you microchip your pet that’s it – you know – and that’s not the case. Just like your credit card information when you change your address or your number, you want to update your microchip information the same so pets can be returned safely,” says Noble.
When community members find a lost pet, Noble states that they can help that pet by going around the area and knocking on neighbors’ doors to see if anyone recognizes the pet. Posting on local social media groups and filing a found pet report on elpasoanimalservices. org are other ways community members can help reunite pets with their families. “Pets have about an 80% chance of returning home if they remain in the same area they were found. When coming to the shelter that chance of being reunited with their families is reduced to 20%,” says Noble.
El Paso Animal Services often hosts events. One is the Rescue Runners event that partners in collaboration with Rescue Runners 915, another volunteer not-forprofit organization that also assists El Paso Animal Services with adoptions. Every Sunday they host this event where the community can come and volunteer to walk the dogs in the shelter. They do this event both at the adoption center and shelter. “It’s a fun experience. People love to do it. It’s a great way to spend your Sunday. Not only do you get some exercise but you get to make a dog’s day even for a short period of time. It means the world to them,” says Noble. Community members can see all upcoming walking events and sign up to participate on rescuerunners.org. Other events they host are microchipping events that are completely free so that community members can bring their pets. These types of events are conducted by El Paso Animal Services Research Grow Team. They started doing these events in 2019 during the COVID pandemic to give an opportunity for the community to take care of their pets during that difficult time.
They also have free vaccinations and free wellness check events. They do it multiple times throughout the year. To see all upcoming events done by the shelter, community members can visit elpasoanimalservices.org. They are currently about to start their “Home for the Holidays” campaign starting at the end of November, where the shelter tries to find a home for pets in their care. Fostering is the main focus of this campaign. Fostering is free and everything is provided, including food, beds and toys. It is all about people opening up their homes to these pets which can help the stress and anxiety these animals go through while being in the shelter. Fostering can be for a short period of time or it can be until they get adopted. All the shelter requires is a minimum of two weeks while updating them and sending pictures of the pets so that they are able to promote them for adoption on their website or social media pages.
Fostering can be a great way to explore pet owning and seeing if it’s a right choice for people to adopt, rather than adopting and later on finding out it’s not right for them. A lot of people think that they could not handle only fostering for a short period of time, but it really gives a chance to the 17,000 pets that come into the shelter yearly. El Paso Animal Services is always open to receiving donations. They accept anything pet related like beds, blankets, and toys. As for pet food, animals at the shelter are fed a specific type of food, so for all pet food donations they accept any brand and it goes to their Pet Pantry program, which started in 2019. The Pet Pantry program was created to help provide resources to low-income community members to feed their pets, which also helped prevent owners from surrendering their pets and avoiding overcrowding the shelter. So, while El Paso and the borderland has issues with unwanted or abused pets, there is great work being done by dedicated individuals and organizations to advocate for them and provide them with loving homes.