The design and creation of a new facility was one of the department goals that current DAS director MeLissa Webber was tasked with when she took her position in 2021. Nearly 20 years later, it is not only overcrowded and in disrepair, it's obsolete in terms of current welfare standards at shelters across the U.S. So why is Dallas considering giving more money to a privately run animal facility for a parking lot, yet denying support to the city's own municipal shelter?ĭAS and the bond In 2023, the city of Dallas began working through the nuts and bolts of a 2024 bond package that would provide funding for streets, parks, flood control, and other city services.ĭAS' current shelter opened in 2007. Their request received gushing praise from at least three City Council members. Zoo management showed up at the Park, Trails and Environment Committee meeting on February 5 with a request for $30 million. The Dallas Zoo wants more security and a parking lot. Despite a demonstrable need and a year-long campaign by shelter staff and advocates, their request to be included in the bond package has been denied. The organization presented a proposal for a $114 million modern new shelter in August 2023. The money they're seeking would be from the city's $1 billion-plus city bond package, which will be up for election in May 2024.ĭallas Animal Services needs a new facility. "I won't be around then, so it's for the city of Dallas, it's for the animals. "This is a shelter that would take us into 2050 and beyond,” Webber says. Her master plan was published as a part of the 2023-2024 budget book. She's the shelter's third director in the last decade the turnover rate for shelter managers is high. The design and creation of a new facility was one of the department goals Webber was tasked with by the City Manager's office when she took her position in 2021. Parking has for years been a problem at the facility and even on a slow day, the spaces are limited. The shelter has 300 kennels, and on a recent afternoon, cages were set in hallways to accommodate the overflow, a reported 385 dogs in residence in July. "So my foster and rescue team are working out of a storage closet." "All of these programs are in place, and they take people to run them," Webber says. The plan spurred new volunteer and foster programs aimed at increasing the number of adoptions and bringing down the number of euthanized animals. In 2018, a " Dallas90" plan was established to use innovative operations and increase community engagement. "It was public safety and strays rather than life-saving programs." "The current Dallas Animal Services was built when the world was a different place, and this was more about catching stray dogs and holding them until their owner could get them," says Webber, who came to Dallas after working in similar roles in Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego. The animal services need is driven, Webber said, by both time and traffic. Recommendations will be presented to the city council in December. The shelter will compete with other department pitches for a spot in the bond package, such as funding for streets, parks, flood control, and economic development. “This is not even a slam dunk to be on the ballot,” says MeLissa Webber, director of Dallas Animal Services. Quorumīut first, the concept needs to be included on the bond package. Outdoor spaces will consist of over 60,000 square feet for outdoor runs, meet & greet playyards, and exercise yards. The new facility would be located on land owned by the city’s parks department about a mile away from the current building. According to the proposed conceptual design by Quorum Architects, Inc, the outdoor spaces will consist of more than 60,000 square feet for outdoor runs, meet & greet playyards, and exercise yards. Outdoor space has become particularly important in shelter design, with play areas used as a way to help animals decompress and present better to potential adopters.
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