(Seguin) — The Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office is reaffirming its commitment to reducing euthanasia and expanding lifesaving programs at the county animal shelter following the decision by Friends of Dogs Rescue Organization to end its involvement with the facility.
“We didn’t agree on everything, but we did agree that the communication needed to be better. And when we left that meeting, we had agreed to meet once every month to try and improve our communication. We made sure that they had phone numbers for everybody within the chain of command –– all the way up to me, to be able to contact regarding the animal shelter if they had concerns to voice. So, we didn’t see this coming. We didn’t know that on Monday morning they were going to pick up and move on. So, it was unexpected and unfortunate, but we will attack it like we’ve attacked everything else that we did and we will do this to the best of our ability,” said Ray.
Ray says the separation comes after months of rising concerns about negative interactions and public messaging that did not align with the sheriff’s office vision for collaboration and transparency.
Because he wanted the relationship to continue, he says he felt obligated to address those concerns about negative interactions directly. He says he did not want to sever ties, but to protect staff, maintain public trust, and reinforce the shelter’s mission.
“There’s a lot of historical relationships and there’s some hurt feelings along the way. Some of it is between our employees and some volunteer members in the group. Some of it’s the individual rescues themselves. There’s a lot of perspectives and like I said a lot of historical hurt feelings and that affects the day-to-day interactions sometimes. It’s really just because we’re people. And one person may not see an interaction the way another person saw the interaction. All you can do is sit down and talk about it. You can’t ignore it because if you ignore it, it just festers. That’s what we thought we were trying to do. It’s just like our daily lives. It’s like me talking to my wife or kids about some communication, sometimes you work through it easily and sometimes you don’t,’ said Ray.
Also as mentioned, county leaders say the social media messaging used by Friends of Dogs in recent months also added tension. Ray says it did not have the solutions-driven approach that he expects from partners working inside a county-run facility. According to the sheriff, the goal was never to diminish the organization’s past contributions but to ensure the shelter’s public image reflects its ongoing progress and its commitment to saving as many animals as possible.
“We asked about the messaging to be more positive in nature. Again, you have competing perspectives in some regards. They would utilize the euthanasia and conditions of the animal shelter sometimes in order to prod adoptions because someone here is like ‘hey, these dogs are about to die. Euthanasia is going to happen today,’ and it creates that alarming effect and it probably did get people to come in and conduct adoptions but indirectly, it’s describing the sheriff’s office as the bad guy in all of this because unfortunately, we are the ones that have to carry out the euthanasia at times,” said Ray.
Ray says it’s important to also note that while euthanasia is a reality, it’s not the ultimate plan for the sheriff’s office.
“We have different responsibilities, right? So we only have so much shelter space and there are constituents within the county that expect the sheriff’s office to respond when they call and say, ‘hey I’ve got a stray dog in my crops,’ ‘there’s dogs getting into my chicken houses,’ or ‘they’re barking outside the fence,’ and so they expect the sheriff’s office to respond. And we do. We seize those animals at times, so we have to have space and we only have so much space to go around. We strive to get those animals adopted, but unfortunately it doesn’t happen. I’ll tell you another side of this story that has not been told, is we are often –– often ––25 or 30 dogs over our max capacity. We have doubled the kennels to try and make this space go as far as we possibly can and we do not euthanize unless we just absolutely have to. But unfortunately, it is a reality in this. I wish we could get around it. I don’t know what that answer is,” said Ray.
The sheriff’s office released a statement Monday expressing appreciation for Friends of Dogs’ years of service. In fact, earlier this year, the sheriff extended a special thank you and recognition to the group for their committed dedication.
While he is disappointed in the group’s decision to not stay, he again emphasizes the shelter’s mission and its commitment to continued services.
The office is also exploring new partnerships such as inmate programs and a probation-based support system, all in coordination with the commissioner’s court to ensure responsible use of county resources. He also says since taking office, he has made some significant changes one of which is designating a dispatcher for the shelter so those animal-related calls can be funneled accordingly. He also noted that the shelter is now staffed continuously during business hours — an improvement aimed at “preventing the missed adoption opportunities that sometimes happened when the front doors were unexpectedly closed.” Plus, plans and funding talks are already in the works for a possible future expansion of the facility.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t ready for them to depart on Monday. We met as a team that day to explore, where do we go from here? As of today, Sergeant Travis Caddell who is the supervisor out there, he’s been talking to veterinary clinics all throughout our community about how we pay for these rabies shots and the various vaccines. How do we do that? I told him that I will find the money somehow –– you tell me what it’s going to cost once a month. What am I roughly looking at? So, I’m waiting on those numbers. We’re working with other rescues throughout our community to set up spay and neuter clinics and adoptions. We’ve set up another Facebook social media page, which even before they decided to depart, we were already going in that direction. The Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office has always adopted out animals. This route, Friends of Dogs, has not been the only mechanism for adopting animals. You, me, anybody can just walk into the shelter and say, ‘hey can I go look at these dogs,’ and adopt one directly from the sheriff’s office,’ said Ray.
The county’s animal shelter located just north of the Guadalupe County Jail is open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. As of press time, the Seguin Daily News was unable to receive a comment from the Friends of Dogs organization.