Proposed Animal Services Ordinances

million dollars meant to fix el paso animal services being put to use the right way? that’s what city council looked at today as the interim director laid it all out on the table. abc-7’s stephanie guadian was there for the presentation. she joins us live in our newsroom. stephanie? city officials say 50 percent of the animals who arrive at the shelter currently leave alive. while that number is jarring for animal lovers, it is lower than past years. the goal is to increase the figure to 90 percent by 2020. overall, the restructuring includes the hiring of 27 additional personnel over three years. there are now four full- time vets working at the center. the shelter is focusing on holding more adoption events and using social media to introduce the public to the animals waiting for forever homes. council is also considering two proposed ordinance changes. the first would ban unrestrained animals from the back of pick-up trucks. the second would address dog-on-dog attacks when determing whether an animal is deemed dangerous. this is video abc- seven showed you last month. a viewer, joe grindstaff, says his home camera system recorded two pit bulls getting into his yard and attacking his smaller dogs. the attack took several minutes… only ending when animal control finally arrived following a 9-1-1 call. two of gridstaff’s dogs died. with this proposed ordinance… owners of dog designated dangerous would have to provide insurance, register with the city and keep the animal safely confined. both are reflections of the city changing its philosophy when it comes to animals– and how those that arrive at the shelter are treated. “i believe the funding is there and committed from council. from the initial outset of this plan, they adopted a three year roll out plan of capital, personnel and an increase in operations cost. there are things that we did not think of in january, and i will have to come back to council for those during our budget sessions changes. but i believe we on the path for great success for animal services and for the animals in this community. the number of runs and play areas has increased, giving more animals access to outdoor “play time” eve day. and the new rufftail runners program allows volunteers to take a dog for an off-site run. other changes include the hiring of a marketing officer and educating people about pet adoption and efforts to end pet overpopulation. rick? stephanie, live in our newssroom tonight. thank you. catholic church carnivals in el paso are