Government
BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN
Conroe City Council terminates contract with animal shelter operator
Timeline of events
July 7, 10:59 a.m.: Casey was
NOTE: CASEY RECEIVED AN ANTI INFLAMMATORY MEDICATION TWICE A DAY, BUT THERE ARE NO TIME LOGS OF WHEN THE MEDICATION WAS GIVEN. Rehabilitation arrived and took possession of Casey. found Casey had chewed his injured leg o. No emergency care was provided, and a dog cone was placed on Casey. July 9, 4:51 p.m.: Special Needs Animal Rescue and brought to the shelter and placed in a kennel. The shelter texted the nonpro t Operation Pets Alive saying he needed to be rescued. July 7, 12:11 p.m.: OPA o cials said they couldn’t help. July 8, morning: Hurricane Beryl made landfall, leaving minimal sta ng. July 8, 1:15 p.m.: Sta left the facility, and Casey stayed overnight. July 9, morning: Shelter sta
• Vaccination delays • Sterilization delays • Lack of full water bowls and food prior to lights out each night Tipton said these allow for termination. Prior to this case, the police department had no record of formal or informal disciplinary actions against Care Corporation during its 10 years of operation at the animal shelter, according to city o cials. What they’re saying “This is absolutely uncalled for. It’s unaccept- able, and I’m embarrassed. ... This cannot and will not happen again,” Mayor Pro Tem Harry Hardman said Aug. 7. “We won’t always get things right, but when we nd there is an issue, we’re going to x it. ... We own this, and we take responsibility for it,” Mayor Duke Coon said Aug. 7. “I, as the mayor, take responsibility for what’s happening with that shelter today. We’re going to x it; we’re going to be better.” What’s next The Conroe Police Department has stationed four employees at the shelter whenever Care Corporation is on-site, according to city o cials. If a new operator is not found, the police department will continue to operate the shelter until City Council decides whether to re-bid or consider bringing the shelter under city management. The city has until Sept. 19 to determine if any vendors have bid on the contract.
Conroe City Council approved the termination at its Aug. 22 meeting of the city’s contract with Care Corporation, which ran the Conroe Animal Shelter for 10 years. What you need to know The decision came after a dog injured itself, putting the practices of Care Corporation into question, according to an Aug. 9 news release. The company has been contracted to run the animal shelter since 2014, and the city has paid Care Corporation $497,416 year-to-date this scal year since October 2023, according to city o cials. According to a Conroe Police Department investigation, Casey, a male dog, chewed his leg o while he was at the shelter for two and a half days in early July. “The responsibility to oversee the animal shelter was the police department’s responsibility,” interim Police Chief Lee Tipton said Aug. 7. “We failed. ... As interim chief, I wanted to make it clear that I will do everything in my power to implement checks and balances, and strict, strict protocols to prove and show that this will never happen again.” The investigation found the city’s contract with Care Corporation does not de ne or stipulate what “emergency medical attention” consists of and that the shelter does not have emergency medical equipment or medications. When an animal is in an emergency situation, Care Corporation’s options are to euthanize or rely on a rescue. The investigation also found de ciencies within the contract, including:
July 23: Conroe Police Department began its investigation. Aug. 7: Tipton discussed the investigation at a City Council Aug. 22: Conroe City Council approved the termination of the city’s contract with Care Corporation with a transition workshop meeting.
period of 30 days or less.
Sept. 21: The 30-day transition period to terminate the contract ends.
SOURCE: CITY OF CONROE COMMUNITY IMPACT
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