KHOU-11’s Brad Woodard documents the latest problems at BARC:
BARC recently let one veterinarian go and suspended another, who has now resigned. This means that there is just one chief veterinarian left. She was off last weekend, but on call.
“She was called to consult with the vet techs. We have several vet technicians who work all the time, and there are certain tasks they can do simply on standing orders from the chief veterinarian,” said Kathy Barton, who is the spokesperson for the organization.
But there are certain tasks, the veterinarian technicians can’t do.
Over this past weekend when the chief veterinarian was off, records seem to indicate some of the dogs brought in over the weekend were vaccinated for rabies.
But according to state law, the veterinarian technicians are not allowed to do this.
“It has to be done in direct supervision by a board certified veterinarian, which means they need to be in the same room and observe the vaccine being given,” said Rosser.
Barton says BARC is doing the best it can under the circumstances and aggressively seeking replacement vets.
The constant criticism, she says, isn’t helping.
Unfortunately, neither patience nor task forces have helped, so constant criticism and media attention are about all that would seem to be left to motivate our mayor, who is angling for statewide office, to focus on improving the awful conditions at BARC right here in Houston.
Indeed, Mayor White seems cognizant of the fact he needs to say something even if he isn’t really ready to do anything about the ongoing mess that is BARC. Here is a recent letter to the Chronicle:
Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenburg and others fairly noted that I personally have not paid the attention to detail on animal adoption comparable to our efforts on crime, traffic, economic development, and neighborhood protection. (Please see “4 years, no results at BARC,” City and State cover, Thursday.)
Though we increased the budget on Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care by 33 percent and made improvements, some of the recommendations of my citizens’ task force have not been implemented.
Several concrete actions will be undertaken this year: We will dedicate more public funds and solicit more private funds for an attractive, centrally located adoption facility; increase spay-and-neuter services; and add staff to enlist volunteers. We will not neglect existing programs dealing with vicious animals and animal diseases.
Real progress on reducing euthanasia at BARC and other shelters is not just a matter for a taxpayer-funded program. It will require changes in the behavior of animal owners and a willing-ness of more Houstonians to adopt. City Council, city employees and I do care about animals. My dog Pepper was adopted from a shelter. Anyone reading this letter willing to adopt should go to the Web site at www.houstontx.gov/health/BARC.
Bill White,
mayor of Houston
Actually, some of us would say that the leadership efforts at BARC (weak) have been very similar to the leadership efforts on crime from the White Administration (Chief Hurtt), but Lynne Anderson offered a more compelling takedown of the Mayor’s letter:
In response to Mayor Bill White’s letter: Budget increases are commendable, but it is attitudinal change — rightly identified but not implemented by the mayor — that is essential. The inability of a BARC-designated employee to use the software designed to produce a count of euthanized animals is a management issue. Maintaining a clean facility that is humane for the animals and inviting to visitors is a management issue. Choosing to hire and retain a veterinarian whose license to practice veterinary medicine had — in the past — been revoked in another state is a management issue.
Educating the public to prevent safety and health issues arising from animal ownership is a leadership issue as well as a management issue. Walking out of a City Council meeting during a polite, time-limited presentation by a representative of No Kill Houston (as our mayor did on Jan. 27) is a sensitivity and political leadership issue.
And telling the public in his letter to go to BARC to adopt from a facility that is poorly maintained/managed does not reflect a mind-set needed to address this problem.
— LYNNE ANDERSON,
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance, Bellville
Perhaps the next mayor of Houston will make improving the deplorable conditions at BARC a priority for Houston.
