San Angeloans Upset Over Dead Animals Left on Streets Over Holiday Weekend

Over the weekend, there were several complaints about dead animals left on city streets. One family had to remove their dog from the roadway, which they deemed a heart wrenching experience. Because of this, concerned citizens contacted San Angelo LIVE! and went to social media to voice their dismay.

During the Fourth of July weekend, San Angelo Animal Services were off duty. They would only respond to emergency situations considered dangerous to the public. Some people accused the City of not wanting to pay employees holiday pay as the reason.

When asked if there were no Animal Control Services over the holiday because of this, Anthony Wilson, Public Information Officer for the City of San Angelo, said “We always have Animal Control officers on call, but they only respond to very specific instances that would constitute some sort of public danger. If there is a call regarding a dead animal in a public right-of-way, they respond to those immediately once they are on duty, but are not called out after hours.” 

Wilson said public danger would include an animal attacking another animal or human, vicious dogs, loose livestock, calls for assistance by SAPD, or wildlife within city limits posing a hazard or threat.

Over the holiday weekend, no calls were recorded because City offices were closed, but they resumed once the office reopened Tuesday.

Many concerned citizens posted about the animals left on the road on social media. One man said he saw the dogs on a busy roadway, and took action to move them from the middle of the streets. The dogs were said to be sitting in the roadway since Friday afternoon. 

"The asphalt can get very hot during the summer, and dogs were rotting out in the open," he said. "It was an eye sore in the center of our town and should have been priority." 

As of now, according to Anthony Wilson, Animal Control only has one officer working and two vacancies. There are a few people who help out with calls from the Animal Shelter for non-threatening animal related issues. 

From Friday at 5:00 p.m., when Animal Control was closed for the weekend, to Tuesday morning when they reopened, there were 17 animal carcasses for one officer to pick up.

In light of citizen concerns, COSA is looking to fill the vacancies at Animal Control Services so the City can take care of more in a shorter period of time.