The Meadows Neighborhood Association

Dallas has officially joined the ranks of cities and towns across the country that have taken on the challenge of ultimately becoming “no kill,” with the goal of ending the killing of homeless dogs and cats.

Following the lead of cities like San Francisco, Austin, New York and Richmond, the City of Dallas has created an official task force, the Dallas Companion Animal Project (Dallas CAP), charged with developing a blueprint for ending the killing of adoptable animals.

“Our goal is to guide the community in identifying and increasing easily accessible programs that will allow us to stop the killing of healthy, treatable companion animals,” said Rebecca Poling, chair of the task force and a member of the Animal Shelter Commission.

To do that, Dallas CAP will focus on getting the community more involved on all levels:  reducing the number of animals given up and abandoned by their owners; making it easier and more affordable for owners to spay and neuter their pets; increasing the number of stray and loose animals returned to their owners; offering options to people considering giving up their pets; and increasing the number of animals adopted and those transferred to other shelters and humane organizations.    

This past year, 20,684 dogs and cats—or 75 percent of the 28,392 companion animals that ended up in the City’s shelter—were put to death simply because there weren’t enough homes for them. 

“Ending the killing of adoptable animals is not about any one shelter becoming no kill,” said Poling.  “It’s about the entire community coming together and embracing all the components of a successful plan:  spay/neuter, education, adoption and rescue, owner retention, behavior hotlines, responsible pet ownership.  

“No single agency or organization can possibly be responsible for all the components necessary to make Dallas no kill.  We’re looking for individuals, businesses, corporations, associations, nonprofits, advocacy groups and animal-welfare organizations willing to be a part of this effort by lending their names and encouraging others to do the same.”

The City of Dallas is ready to make the move towards no kill said Joey Zapata, Interim Assistant City Manager.  “We have a new Mayor who firmly believes that Dallas should have the goal of becoming no kill; a City Council committed to supporting the task force; and a new shelter manager, Jody Jones, who played a leading role in making Richmond, VA, a no-kill community.”

Jones knows from her experience in Richmond that in addition to saving lives, reducing euthanasia rates community-wide would have other benefits as well.

“Working together to develop a successful no-kill plan will engage the community in the welfare of our animals and make Dallas a more pet-friendly place to live,” said Jones.  “It will save taxpayer dollars and result in a more educated and informed public.  It also will encourage private/public partnerships, and, most important, it will improve the quality of life for companion animals and people in the City of Dallas.”

For more information about the Dallas Companion Animal Project or to get involved, email dallascompanionanimalproject@gmail.com or visit www.DallasCompanionAnimalProject.org.  Find Dallas Companion Animal Project on Facebook or follow on Twitter @DallasAnimals.  

Beginning this week, and continuing over the next few months, the City’s Outdoor Warning System (a.k.a the “tornado sirens”) will undergo a scheduled preventative maintenance service.

“This maintenance work is fundamental to ensuring the viability of our Outdoor Warning System,” said Josh Roberts, Emergency Management Specialist at the City of Dallas Office of Emergency Management. “We are performing this preventative maintenance in order to do our best at stopping problems before they occur, especially when problems tend to occur when you least want them to,” he added.

This preventative maintenance work is being performed now, before the onset of next spring’s tornado season. Although the Outdoor Warning System can be activated for damaging straight-line winds or hail storms, the primary and most important use of the sirens is to alert residents of a tornado threat.

Throughout and during the maintenance work, residents may hear brief and intermittent siren noises, called siren “burps”. “Siren burps don’t last as long as the actual 3-5 minute siren activations,” Roberts said, “and we’ll temporarily pause maintenance work if we get an indication of inclement weather, or if we see any potential of actually having to use the siren system,” he added. Roberts indicated that he wanted the public to know of this preventative maintenance, so as to give everyone a head’s up. He stated, “We don’t want any confusion as to whether it’s maintenance or a real activation.”

The City is not paying extra for this preventative maintenance service, as it is part of the existing service agreement with the City’s siren contractor. Monthly testing will continue to occur as regularly scheduled. The Outdoor Warning System is tested on the first Wednesday of every month at 12:00 Noon, weather permitting.