SPCA of Texas’ Future: How We’re Putting Animals First

By Hiren Patel, Chairman of the Board, SPCA of Texas

The following was submitted to the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board for publication as an OpEd piece.

At the SPCA of Texas, we share a singular passion for protecting the welfare and security of animals.

Over our almost 85 years, we have had to make challenging decisions to fulfill our mission to provide every animal with exceptional care and a loving home. These decisions are not always easy or popular, but they are necessary to be a sustainable community resource.

While the reasons for change are legitimate, these decisions have come under fire in recent Dallas Morning News editorials. Our community deserves to read a more balanced perspective on animal welfare in North Texas. We will share a few points of clarity and explain how we are moving forward to best serve our community’s most vulnerable animals.

First, we want to address our four-year partnership with the Dallas Police Department (DPD) and our decision to request payment for our services to its Animal Cruelty Unit.

Our Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit (ACI) provides investigation support, training, expert testimony and forensic services to law enforcement and animal control organizations.

SPCA of Texas takes over ownership of these abused and neglected animals, totaling 1,319 animals in 2022 alone. We provide them with extensive veterinary and behavioral care, as well as daily housing and TLC. SPCA of Texas is one of only a few animal welfare organizations in Texas that addresses both the medical and behavioral issues that arise from these cases.

We work hard to ensure these neglected and abused animals are fully restored and ultimately find loving homes.

These services are costly and continue to increase over time. A modest fee allows us to sustainably provide the care these animals need and deserve.

SPCA of Texas reached out to DPD several times between February and October of last year to discuss a sustainable path forward. We were disappointed that we could not reach an agreement after several years of partnership.

We remain willing to provide our expert animal cruelty investigations in Dallas. At the same time, we also support communities outside the city limits, where no other options exist.

Apart from its work with DPD, our ACI Unit’s small team of experts investigates more than 2,000 cruelty cases each year. Many these cases are in Dallas County, and our ACI Unit regularly works alongside law enforcement in Garland, Irving, Balch Springs and surrounding communities.

This ongoing advocacy for abused animals is essential to prosecuting animal cruelty in Dallas and across North Texas.

Second, we are doing everything possible to ensure Southern Dallas pets continue to receive quality veterinary services following the closing of the Mary Spencer Clinic on Village Fair Road.

Closing our veterinary clinic at the Village Fair clinic location was not our preferred choice. We began discussions with the City of Dallas last summer about a long-term lease renewal. With a 10-year subsidized lease, we felt more comfortable reinvesting funds in the significant repairs needed to ensure the older building was safe for our staff, volunteers, clients and their pets.

Unfortunately, we were not able to come to agreeable terms. In August, the city sent a month-to-month lease agreement and denied our request to extend our lease. Without a workable lease agreement, the Village Fair Clinic facility was no longer sustainable or safe for us to operate.

We’re proud of our track record of providing high-quality veterinary care to our community. As an example, the Spay-Neuter Surge Project, our collaboration with Spay Neuter Network, Dallas Animal Services and multiple private funders, provided more than 68,000 dogs across Southern Dallas with free spay/neuter surgeries, vaccines, microchips and more. Thoughtful solutions like this are needed for the safety of both people and pets going forward.

We remain committed to serving our clients from Southern Dallas with access to quality care. Since moving our services to the Myron K. Martin Clinic on Lone Star Drive, we’ve seen a 50% increase in visits over the same period in 2022 and have maintained our client base from the same zip codes previously served through the Village Fair Clinic.

While we are in a time of transition, all of us at SPCA of Texas remain focused on our mission to provide every animal exceptional care and a loving home.

The SPCA of Texas’ Board of Directors is moving forward with an executive search process to fill the CEO role with a thorough and transparent process. We will seek an industry leader who is well-equipped to address our community’s biggest animal welfare challenges and amplify our impact.

On behalf of the SPCA of Texas Board of Directors, we vow to always put our mission first, listen to our community and their needs, and partner with other animal welfare groups to create a safer and more humane North Texas.