Guest Editorial
By Barbara Valencia
City Representative Chris Canales of District 8 has chosen to use his position as a member of City Council for political gaslighting as a way to deflect his failure for not addressing the stray dog crisis in the city. Over the last four years, local rescues and animal advocates have stood before the current and previous City Council to warn of the dangers of limited intake sheltering that has resulted in leaving thousands of dogs on the streets to fend for themselves, indiscriminately breeding resulting in thousands of puppies born on the streets, dogs and puppies suffering from starvation, the elements, predation, being hit by vehicles, and becoming a danger to the public as the dogs form packs to survive. Life on the streets is painful for these innocent dogs and puppies. Of the ones taken in by El Paso Animal Services, some are restricted to a life in a kennel or crate for months to years, becoming “kennel crazy” with little hope of getting out.
The city doesn’t have thousands of kennels, nor the staff and resources to round up, take in and care for thousands of strays indefinitely. As limited intake continued, rescues and advocates warned City Council that as the stray population continuous rise, increased euthanasia might be needed temporarily to get the situation under control, until effective programs could be reinstated to lower euthanasia numbers and boost live release outcomes.
For the past four years, Rep. Canales has ignored the rescues and advocates who are on the front lines, tirelessly taking in countless strays that El Paso Animal Services turned away. This has come at a high cost, leaving rescues overburdened, frustrated, and financially drained, without any support from the city. Some have been forced to shut down permanently, despite being desperately needed in the city. Instead of working toward solutions to the stray dog crisis, Rep. Canales has engaged in political gaslighting, falsely claiming that some rescues and advocates “regularly advocate for euthanizing more animals at the shelter for space,” which is entirely untrue. What these rescues and advocates actually told City Council was a warning: El Paso Animal Services was heading down a dangerous path with limited intake sheltering that could lead to the deaths of many animals, both in the shelter and on the streets. The truth is, we are in this stray dog crisis because of Rep. Canales and the rest of City Council allowed the continued use of limited intake sheltering. His false claim has caused irreparable harm to the rescues, driving away supporters and donors. Since local rescues rely solely on donations, losing donors means more closures – and the city cannot afford to lose any more rescues. Yet, due to this political gaslighting, that is exactly what will happen. It’s disgraceful that Rep. Canales has chosen to use his City Council seat for political gaslighting that ends up hurting the animals.
About Barbara Valencia
Barbara Valencia is long time animal advocate and director of Huckleberry Hound Dog Rescue of El Paso, a local nonprofit, no kill dog rescue.
Visited 10 times, 10 visit(s) today