Community Impact Article – More to Our Story

ICYMI – Original post from May 2019 and not much has changed.

It was exciting to see Community Impact’s recent posting and publication about Frisco’s Pet Project! They really do tell the stories that matter.

We were the first stop for reporter Gavin Pugh when he wanted to learn more about Frisco’s current rescue efforts. He had noticed that Frisco’s Pet Project was gaining momentum on Facebook and from our new website and wanted to learn more about our group and mission.

We talked for quite some time and shared many of our ideas like our first priority—a 72-hour temporary holding facility for Frisco Animal Services (FAS) that falls under the Police Department. Some might wonder why the number of pets picked up and taken to Collin County Animal Service (CCAS) by FAS in 2018 was only 450. It doesn’t account for the hundreds of pets that Frisco residents are personally rescuing yearly. We have been trying to track those numbers, but we have found it most difficult because there have been so many lost pets that Frisco citizens personally rescue and transport to Collin County Animal Services (CCAS) in McKinney. Of the total number of 571 pets picked up by FAS, only 131 dogs and 7 cats were returned to their Frisco owners.

Compare the FAS number of intakes to that of Plano and The Colony. In 2018, Plano took in approximately 3,354 dogs and 1,747 cats, while The Colony took in 997. The Colony’s Center and staff have an annual budget of only $433K with 5 full-time employees and four trucks. Plano’s staff and facility has a budget of $2.3 mil—27+ employees and seven trucks and mobile unit. The City of Frisco, without a center, has a budget of nearly $1.1 mil. They pay CCAS some $350K a year and FAS has seven employees and six trucks. In a county of nearly a million people, the three top offenders for dropping off animals at CCAS are McKinney, Frisco, and the “Unincorporated” areas.

So, looking at these numbers, it’s hard to imagine that Frisco pet owners are more responsible than the nearby communities of Plano, Denton, Lewisville, The Colony, Little Elm, Carrollton, and Allen—all with shelters. Is it realistic to believe we only have about 571 pets escaping their homes when say their backyard gate is left open by the lawn crew, or the front door doesn’t close after a teen darts to catch the bus?

What are the pros and cons to having a rescue and adoption center in the City of Frisco? It would free up space in a shelter already beyond capacity. It would be helpful to Frisco owners frantically trying to find their lost and frightened pet. It would be convenient for Frisco residents or Frisco students who wish to donate hours to their community and abandoned pets. It would help to have a central Frisco location for local rescue groups to have adoption events, offer low-cost registration, chipping services, or spay and neuter clinics. And really, does Frisco Animal Services need, as Mayor Cheney noted, “…an incentive for the city’s animal services department to locate the owners of lost pets within the same business day”?

To add, we would love to have been included in this year’s bond election, but we were told that Frisco taxpayers wouldn’t support the tax increase to cover a $6 to $8 mil center at most. We can’t say our contract with CCAS is, as the Mayor notes, “collaborating as a region to try to provide the most cost-effective services for this need” when it was reported to us that the average stay at CCAS is $150 per pet and shelter adoption fees are only $25 and sometimes even $10 in recent weeks. From what we understand, FAS leans on CCAS for any Frisco adoption events and special spay and neuter clinics so what are “a lot more resources available,” that the Mayor speaks of?

Frisco’s Pet Project was recently told by the City of Frisco they don’t want talk about our ideas for a future rescue center at this time. Perhaps this article by Community Impact with help the citizens of Frisco to come together and convince City Officials to listen again. Thank you Gavin and Community Impact again for helping us to keep Frisco pets in Frisco!

And, don’t leave the website without signing up to say yes to pets! Thank you!