Montgomery County Animal Control should be able to save 50 additional dogs per month if county commissioners approve low-cost alterations and adoptions in January.

This would be possible because of a low-cost spay and neuter program that would allow Animal Control to begin adopting animals directly out of its facility for the first time, Animal Control Director Kelly Copeland said.
Animal Control currently only does a few rescues to individuals because it doesn't have spay and neuter services and does not have enough staff to ensure compliance from individuals rescuing animals, which would ensure the new owners have the animals altered, she said. So the group has relied primarily on the efforts of local animal adoption networks.
"We still want to utilize the adoption networks," Copeland said. "Since we've been open, they've been very important to us."
The low-cost alterations would be offered by the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection in Denton, she said. The group would come to the Animal Control building twice a month to perform the alterations.
The cost of the procedure would be $25 to $55 for cats or dogs, depending on gender and size, Copeland said.
"I'm very optimistic about this program," she said.
Animal Control currently euthanizes an average of 505.3 canines per month, according to statistics for the last 10 months. A decrease of 50 canines per month would lower the number of canines euthanized by 10 percent.
"The program will eventually become a success, when more and more days of alterations will be offered," Copeland said.
It eventually could mean an additional 300 dogs adopted out of Animal Control every month.
"We need to get as many dogs out the front door through adoption and not out the back door euthanized," County Judge Alan B. Sadler said.
An incident was nearly averted Monday following Commissioners Court. A dispute between Animal Control and K9 Corral, a rescue program, was resolved allowing rescue efforts by the group to continue. K9 Corral is the largest rescuer of canines from Animal Control, with 622 rescued so far this year.
Susan Hebert represented K9 Corral and said Animal Control had decided to sever its relationship with the group because of the group's decision on the adoption of one animal. Animal Control wanted the animal returned because it had been promised to a county employee, she said. K9 Corral wanted the animal to be fixed before it was given to the employee, and Animal Control refused.
K9 Corral's policy is that all animals must be altered before they can be adopted, Herbert said.
The family previously had been told they had one month to get the canine altered, Copeland said. Animal Control had agreed to take back the dog and allow the family to rescue it from them.
Copeland said the issue is that K9 Corral has tried to force Animal Control to go against county policy.
This also was not the first issue with the group, she said.
"It seems like in this case, there could have been some give on both sides," Sadler said. He asked both sides to come to his office following Monday's commissioners meeting.
Both sides in the meeting agreed they would be able to continue to work together.
After the meeting, Herbert said the low-cost spay and neuter program was a positive idea and she would do anything she could to help it be successful.
"It's high time Montgomery County had a program like that," she said.
Copeland believes the dispute may be a positive development because it makes commissioners aware of the difficulties present in Animal Control not having its own spay and neuter option.
Burton Speakman can be reached at bspeakman@mail.hcnonline.net.