Abandoned animals a growing problem

By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published June 10, 2011

When Mike Holley got home Sunday from a quick trip to the grocery store, he found more than bags of groceries in the back of his pickup. There also were three puppies someone apparently put in the truck bed while Holley was in the store shopping.

“Somebody had a lot of gumption to pull up beside my truck and put three puppies in it,” Holley said.

Actually, it’s not that uncommon of an occurrence, the county’s top animal control official said. And while still illegal, it shows some thoughtfulness on the part of the person doing the dumping.

“We have had that before,” Kim Schoolcraft, the director of the Galveston County Animal Shelter said. “People put unwanted puppies inside people’s yards or in front of a store where there’s going to be people, and they hope someone will feel sorry for them and keep them.

“They feel bad that they can’t care for the puppy anymore. Then there are people who don’t care and just dump them on the side of the road.”

While the county doesn’t have an accurate accounting, animal dumping is on the increase, Schoolcraft said.

“I think a lot of it is economy related,” she said. “We see people who lost their jobs and homes and just leave (the animals) there.”

It’s a national epidemic, Schoolcraft said.

“Across the nation, all of the shelters are rescue groups are overrun with unwanted animals.”

And it’s not just the mutts that are being abandoned.

“We are seeing more and more pure breds waiting to get rescued,” she said.

In the case of the three mix-breed puppies left in the back of Holley’s truck, some animal lovers sprung into action and found the three pups new homes within a few days.

Holley’s wife called Mariam Brick of Bayou Vista asking for her help. She called fellow animal lover Donna Bumpass, who picked up the trio that “were covered in fleas.”

Bumpass bathed them and while Brick’s daughter Brenda Johnstone posted on her Facebook page offering the pups to anyone who would give them a good home.

Courtney Territo saw the post and after noticing no one had replied for 30 minutes called her husband and asked if she could pick up one of the puppies.

“I we could have taken all three of them we would,” Bobby Territo said. “I would have taken them all in a heart beat if we could afford it.”

The other two pups — both females — were taken to a Clear Lake area vetenarian who promised to care for them until they find new homes, Bumpass said.

The lone male of the pups is enjoying his time in Dickinson with the Territos, where 5-year-old Dakota Territo has been charged with helping in his care.

“I give him water and I’ve walked him,” she said.

The pup was named Andre Joseph Territo. The first name comes because Bobby Territo is a big Houston Texans fan, so the dog — which is part Rottweiler and part hound dog the Territos’ vet said — is named after the Texans’ All Pro wide receiver Andre Johnson.

The middle name has a spiritual meaning coming from the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis and the story of Joseph, son of Jacob, who was abandoned and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, but eventually became the most powerful man in Egypt.

Schoolcraft noted the puppies are lucky to have found homes so quickly, but warns that anyone thinking of abandoning animals, even in a high traffic area, is doing the animals more harm than good.

“The best alternative is not let these dogs and cats reproduce,” she said. There are grants from the Animal Alliance that would provide for free spaying or neutering.

But if someone has animals they can’t care for, “They should still take them to an animal shelter or rescue group,” Schoolcraft said. “That is really the best solution.”

(News Media: For more information contact Kurt Koopmann, GCHD Public Information Officer, 409-938-2211 or kkoopman@gchd.org)