El Paso’s animal shelter remains closed to the public, but still taking in strays during pandemic

EL PASO, Texas -- Several businesses have changed their practices and policies during the CoVid-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus. El Paso Animal Services has closed their doors to the public, but is still operating.

The shelter told ABC-7 there has been confusion regarding some of their services.

An ABC-7 viewer concerned about stray dogs and people who needed to surrender their pets wrote, "Just because Covid hit is no excuse to close the El Paso Animal Shelter intake service, which is an essential service."

The shelter's director, Paula Powell, said they are still taking in stray dogs and have throughout the pandemic.

To limit the amount of animals coming in the shelter, officials have asked the community to step in first and use the shelter as a last resort.

Powell said the majority of lost pets are found within 1,000 feet of their home, so the shelter has asked the community to foster lost pets they find and share the information in the nearby community or on social media.

"What the community has done during the last three months has been unbelievable, " said Powell. "The El Paso families have helped thousands of pets in a short amount of time."

Powell said the number of euthanized pets has also gone down. In June of last year, Powell said 370 pets were euthanized, while there were just 56 euthanized this June.

Click here to see what Animal Services are currently available for El Pasoans.