June 24, 2019 - Mesquite, TX - City Manager Cliff Keheley issued the following statement on the Mesquite Animal Shelter:
Mesquite Community,
The proper care of animals can be an emotional issue. Recently, the City of Mesquite received several inquiries about activities at the Mesquite Animal Shelter that I felt needed to be addressed.
As the City Manager and a pet owner myself, I want to reassure the community of Mesquite that our animal shelter staff is committed to the highest level of care. That care is for all the animals brought to them or that they go and retrieve from unsafe situations. Last year alone, our shelter accepted more than 6,000 animals - regardless of condition or circumstances. Our goal is to see that all the animals we accept responsibility for are safely released back to their owners, to adopters or to our extraordinary rescue groups. Our employees do not take that responsibility lightly.
Our staff truly cares about the life and comfort of each animal in their possession. In fact, for the previous 22 months the Mesquite Animal Shelter has euthanized less than 10 percent of animals that it has taken in. Not to trivialize this unfortunate action, but for a city of our size and for the volume of animals we take in - this is a remarkable level of public service. But our staff is committed to reducing that number even further. By continuing to expand our partnerships with rescue organizations and off-site adoptions, as well as low-cost and free adoption events, we hope to achieve better results.
The loss of any animal is a dramatic experience for our staff. It is a decision they do not take for granted and they are not cavalier in their enormous responsibilities for animal welfare. I am proud of the work that our animal shelter staff does every day to not only make our city safe, but also for the care they provide for all animals in the shelter.
The entire Mesquite Animal Shelter staff, our tireless volunteers and Animal Services Manager, Jeanne Saadi, shoulder a tremendous burden for the care of all animals in Mesquite - and they have my full support and extreme confidence. If you have any questions or concerns about the shelter, I encourage you to contact me directly. I may be reached by phone at 972-216-6404 or by email at ckeheley@cityofmesquite.com.
-Cliff Keheley, City Manager