It鈥檚 never quiet at the Collin County animal shelter. There are fans whirring, calming music playing on an intercom and of course, barking 鈥� the dogs there have a lot to say.
The growing county鈥檚 animal shelter has been overflowing with pets for years. The facility could double in size if a $5.7 million bond proposition passes in November 鈥� but construction wouldn鈥檛 finish until February 2027. And Kimberly Alsobrook, the shelter鈥檚 volunteer and foster coordinator, said they need the space now.
All of the shelter鈥檚 kennels are full. There are also cages stacked on top of each other in the hallways. That鈥檚 been typical at the Collin County Shelter for a while. And it鈥檚 getting worse.
Alsobrook said animal intake numbers are up this year 鈥� the shelter has taken in 5,407 pets this year so far. But she said adoption rates are down, which means there are more animals in tight quarters.
鈥淭here's only so much space and only so far apart that you can keep them,鈥� Alsobrook said.
Keeping animals close together can cause behavioral problems. Alsobrook said they鈥檝e had to euthanize animals who can鈥檛 be adopted because of behavior problems and to make room for more animals.
鈥淭hose are the ones that always pull at my heartstrings,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he ones that come in and they're afraid.鈥�
The shelter euthanized 97 animals for behavior in June, according to data the animal advocacy group Frisco鈥檚 Pet Project obtained through an open records request.
Rapid Transmission
Less room also makes it harder to stop disease from spreading. Krista Schull, the vice president of local cat rescue , said most of the 26 cats the rescue took in from the shelter after the AC went out in July were sick.
鈥淚t increased our vet costs immensely because everybody had to get into the vet as quickly as possible,鈥� Schull said.
Schull said the cats had diarrhea, eye infections and upper-respiratory infections. She said that might鈥檝e been prevented with better cleaning.
Alsobrook said the staff and volunteers do their best to keep things clean 鈥� but there鈥檚 only five full-time staffers and two part-time employees working with her.
Kacy Hendricks, the founder of , said not all of the volunteers at the shelter are as attentive to cleanliness as they should be. Her rescue spent $13,000 trying to save a dog it took from the shelter that had multiple illnesses.
Hendricks said some of the volunteers at the shelter are there to fulfill court-mandated community service hours. But she said many end up playing on their phones instead of working because there鈥檚 not enough staff to monitor them.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 see it as an important thing, that they could be costing these animals their lives by not cleaning properly,鈥� Hendricks said.
Shifting Responsibility
Some animals from Frisco may arrive at the shelter sick. Animal advocate Terri Palleschi said sick puppies from a local pet store have ended up at the Collin County shelter. She said the puppies seem healthy at pet store but get sick within a couple of days.
Then the owner has vet bills they can鈥檛 afford after spending thousands of dollars buying the dog.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l turn it into the shelter and have them adopt it out and wipe their hands to their health issues,鈥� she said.
A 2019 investigation by the Humane Society at Petland's Frisco location found that the pet store was selling sick and underweight puppies. A representative for Petland denied the allegations in an email to 四虎影院 and said Frisco Police and Animal Services didn't find any evidence to support them.
"None of the claims by this [Humane Society of the U.S.] investigator were justified," Petland said.
Frisco doesn鈥檛 have a city animal shelter like Plano or Allen. Marla Fields, the founder of the Frisco Pet Project, said the animal advocacy group has been trying to get the Frisco city council to put money for an animal shelter on a bond for years 鈥� but the mayor and most of the city council members have been resistant.
The council took the money for a shelter off the ballot for the bond election last May 鈥� even though the citizen bond committee recommended it. Fields said that frustrates animal advocates.
鈥淭he county is doing enough already,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey don't need to be asked to do even more.鈥�
There鈥檚 a county bond election in November that $5.7 million to expand the county鈥檚 animal shelter that would double its size 鈥� but the construction wouldn鈥檛 finish until February 2027.
Until then, Alsobrook and the other staff and volunteers at the shelter will have to make do with the space they have and put cages on top of each other in the hallways.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a corps member for 四虎影院.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider today. Thank you.
