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Shake-up Unleashed on Pound's Top Dogs

12/11/2004

Text by © Lisa Sandberg/San Antonio Express-News/ZUMA Press

     In a sweeping overhaul of the San Antonio animal pound, city officials said Friday they will replace longtime director William Lammers with a public health veteran who vowed to modernize the beleaguered agency.

     Sam Sanchez, the city's environmental health administrator, will become the pound's overall manager on Dec. 20, according to a memo detailing the changes, which also call for a blue ribbon panel to study euthanasia methods and for renewed efforts to save more unwanted animals.

     Sanchez promised to steer the city's Animal Care Services, known to run the deadliest large municipal pound in the country, in a new direction.

     "We're going to reach out to anybody in the U.S. that has experience, to see what is working in other areas," said Sanchez, 55, a University of Texas at Austin graduate who joined the health department as an inspector in 1973.

     Sanchez, who has no significant experience in the area of animal control, will report directly to Rolando Bono, the interim city manager.

     As part of the changes announced Friday, Metro Health Director Dr. Fernando Guerra no longer will have day-to-day oversight of the pound.

     Lammers, a 63-year-old veterinarian who has been the pound director since 1989, will be reassigned. He had become a lightning rod for what many regard as an outdated approach, including his adherence to euthanizing unwanted and stray pets in gas chambers.

     His new duties largely will be limited to dealing with animals, training staff and ensuring that established procedures are followed, according to the memo. In an ironic turn, Lammers, whose policies required gassing of puppies and kittens at the pound, also will oversee a switch to lethal injections of young animals.

     Lammers' secretary said Friday he was unavailable for comment.

     Lammers and Guerra have defended use of the pound's three gas chambers since a San Antonio Express-News series last month exposed the high death rate and the pound's failure to comply with a national report's recommendations three years ago to make the facility more humane.

     Nearly 50,000 cats and dogs will be killed at the pound this year, the highest per capita rate of any large city in the country. While the euthanasia rate nationally has plummeted about 80 percent in the past two decades, San Antonio has seen its rate nearly double.

     Though other cities aggressively promote adoptions, the San Antonio pound killed all young animals under 4 months of age until now.

     While the news was greeted with relief by animal lovers, city officials tried to downplay the significance of the management changes, insisting that Lammers was not being demoted.

     He will remain a division head, they said, though they also acknowledged that Sanchez — not Lammers — would be in charge of the overall operation.

     "We're just adding a new manager," said Diane Galvan, a city spokeswoman. "It's almost like a technicality. We're adding, we're enhancing."

     Elsewhere, news of Lammers' replacement was greeted as a sign that change was afoot.

     Lammers "was the one in charge of the division and now he doesn't have the authority he had before," said Councilman Julián Castro, who is running for mayor.

     "We need to bring a new vision to the Animal Care unit," Castro added.

     "I think new leadership with a new outlook is probably called for."

     Critics say the problem doesn't rest with the pound's managers. Even as the number of animals coming into the pound has grown, city funding has lagged and staff has been cut. The pound's $3.2 million budget, which breaks down to $2.17 per person in Bexar County, is about half what the International City/County Management Association says is necessary for an adequate Animal Control agency.

     Sanchez said city leaders had told him he would be given "the necessary tools" to successfully move the agency in a more modern direction.

     "I was given the assurance that we were going to have some meaningful results," he said.

     As overall manager, Sanchez will be in charge of administrative policies, supervising the development of the volunteer program, expanding animal adoptions, evaluating euthanasia methods and planning a new $12 million voter-approved pound that's scheduled to open in 2007.

     Sanchez said one of his priorities would be to find ways to reduce the number of unwanted animals that enter the shelter.

     "How can we euthanize fewer animals and how can we promote responsible pet ownership?"

     Sanchez said he would have a steep learning curve.

     "Initially, I'm going to have to listen very carefully. I'm going to immerse myself in animal control and reach out to the various animal groups to see how we can do a better job."

     Bono called Sanchez a "consensus builder" and said it was that quality that made him the best candidate for the job. He said he had not decided if Sanchez' appointment would be permanent.

     The city also will reassign Jesse Enriquez, the pound's outreach coordinator, to a more high-profile position as the new volunteer coordinator, a position created last month in response to the public outcry.

     Hundreds of people have vowed to volunteer at Animal Control; the city has said they will now be welcome. In addition, city leaders said they will be seeking foster families to care for underage animals that until now have automatically been euthanized.

     Bono said the city would expand its free and low-cost spay/neuter voucher program and increase the number of animals put up for adoption.

     "The goal will be to allow adoption of any unowned animal in the facility that is healthy and non-aggressive," Bono's memo said.

     Healthy and non-aggressive animals make up about 60 percent of all animals killed at the pound.

     Bono also called Friday for the creation of a blue ribbon committee to "prioritize issues and garner broader community support to address pet responsibility and animal advocacy."

     He said he and Mayor Ed Garza would appoint members to the panel within the next couple of weeks.

     This text may not be edited or altered, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. For editorial licensing of the pictures or text, please contact ZUMA Press at (949) 494.7704 or e-mail Info@zReportage.com.

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