Monday Musings #31: San Antonio's Abandoned Animals Problem

San Antonio might be the only city in the country addressing the problem of irresponsible residents abandoning pet peacocks into the urban wild. It’s the kind of issue that often arouses the national media on a slow news day to publish “weird, but true” stories that often are written or told with an underlying tone of ridicule.

But the problem actually points to a far larger one, the thousands of irresponsible San Antonians who abandon dogs and cats without penalty. The issue was set to be finally addressed by City Council on Thursday, with an amended ordinance subjecting residents who are caught dumping pets to fines ranging from $500-2000.

Once again, however, Mayor Gina Jones has acted in an unpredictable way, by yanking the item off the public agenda, and only under media pressure issuing a statement acknowledging her back-room maneuver. Her office claimed in a belated statement that the agenda item was left over from the administration of Mayor Ron Nirenberg and thus needed to be put through another “process.” 

Simple question, mayor: Why cancel the work done by a prior council when the easiest and most responsible step is to build on it?

It’s another example of Jones pretending to address a policy issue while actually engaging in petty power politics with a council member, in this case, District 7 Councilwoman Marina Gavito, who has been targeted by Jones ever since she led a successful effort to thwart another of Jones’ failed maneuvers to reduce city council authority on posting agenda items for consideration.

Gavito cited the issue of animal abandonment when we spoke in a July 2023 episode of the bigcitysmalltown podcast. That was shortly after she won election to City Council. In Creating Positive Change: How Marina Alderete Gavito is Empowering District Seven, Gavito outlined a back-to-basics agenda focused on addressing crime, homeless camps, helping seniors and other district issues.

Earlier this year, voters returned her to office for a second term with an overwhelming 72% support at the polls. Gavito, from a well-known family with a long history of public service and political engagement, is turning out to be a model councilwoman. By the way, her district has produced two previous mayors: Ed Garza and Julían Castro. Just sayin’.

There is, of course no need to revisit a thoroughly examined issue that has received public input and all the necessary attention from staff. Gavito started to methodically work on the issue in March 2024. It was Animal Care Services Director Jon Gary who told Gavito that the problem of animal abandonment was not limited to peacocks but included other domestic pets, according to this KSAT-TV article. That led to the ordinance being expanded to cover all animal dumplings.

There actually is a peafowl problem in District 7, with a thriving wild population thriving in the more heavily wooded neighborhoods of Glen Oaks and Dreamhill Estates where the birds roam in flocks. They can become a public nuisance with their shrieking calls.

This is not the first time Jones has tried to upend the CCR process. She tried and failed to impose, without warning or prior debate, a new system for council members proposing agenda items for consideration. The changes put forward by Jones would have required council members to subordinate themselves to Jones’ office with their requests. The mayor, then, would hold the power to decide what council considers and does not consider.

Gavito was a leader in organizing council members to stand up to the mayor and thus handing Jones the first of several embarrassing defeats in her first weeks in office. Jones, demonstrating her lack of real leadership skills, later reciprocated by stripping Gavito and two other veteran council members of their important committee chairmanships.

Now it appears we will watch a replay of this soap opera. Once again Gavito and fellow Council reps Marc Whyte (D10) and Teri Castillo (D5) filed a three-signature memo challenging the mayor and forcing the issue back on to the Thursday, Sept. 11 agenda. Don’t be surprised if they have the votes to pass the amended ordinance. KSAT-TV had the best coverage of the council members’ pushback. 

Jones recently lost two important votes, both by 7-4 counts, after she opposed the recommendation by City Manager Erik Walsh and senior staff that council approve a  non-binding term sheet with the San Antonio Spurs for construction of a new arena and entertainment district at Hemisphere.

Now she has bet once again she can operate as a strong mayor in a weak mayor, city manager form of municipal government. Her amateurish power play is an utter waste of council time and energy. Let’s see if she counts any allies on council who agree to follow her blindly yet again down a path to failure. 

Thousands of San Antonians abandon unwanted dogs and cats every year, leaving the city with a perpetual population of roving feral animals left to fend for themselves. The problem has made it impossible for the city and its many nonprofit partners to achieve the goal of making San Antonio a No Kill city.

Dog packs, in particular, become a threat to vulnerable people and their legal pets. We have witnessed a rash of maulings and fatalities in recent years. City Council should unanimously approve stiff fines for violators and ACS should begin strict enforcement.