CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi Animal Care Services is at capacity and is looking for help to find a home for rescued pets.
While most pets find a home somewhere else, some come to ACS in poor health, leaving them with a tough decision to make.
The decision is euthanasia for animals that unfortunately are unable to be rehabilitated. However, it's something Joel Skidmore, Program Director for ACS said is not what they want to do if they can find a better option.
"When we have to make the tough decision to euthanize an animal, it's never done lightly," Skidmore said. "We here at Animal Care Services, we have to make that tough decision on a daily basis."
As ACS fills its kennels to their capacity, they are working with partners and the community to find pets forever homes. They said they will never free up space via euthanasia.
"We avoid euthanizing for space, we haven't done that. We haven't done since I was here and we haven't done that before I was here," Skidmore said.
ACS said animals are only euthanized if they're sick, too injured to recover, a danger to the community, or its court ordered. Lead Animal Control Officer Mia Burbage said euthanasia is a last resort.
"Every single pet that we take in matters and because they are individuals, we see their type of placement from the very first time they come in," Burbage said.
This comes as 35 dogs and one cat were taken from a Corpus Christi home in May. Four people were arrested for animal cruelty in connection with that case. That means those pets are now under the watch of Skidmore and his team, where they will get proper care from experts.
"Those things not only help them in their life, but also helps them find live release placement," Burbage said. "And that is our goal is to find every animal that perfect place where they need to be."
Skidmore also said ACS needs community support to give the animals a break from being stuck in the same place for too long.
"We need the community's support to find placement," Skidmore said. "We need people who want to come and adopt animals, we have great animals who have been here for a long time."
If you're interested in adopting an animal, you can visit the ACS website for more information.
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