10 OctOber 12 - 18, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents wrote in a statement. “He is putting politics, and his resume, ahead of the people.” So, when it comes to Johnson’s supposed lack of higher-office ambitions, should we take him at his word? Johnson still has several years left in his term, noted Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. The mayor is likely keeping his options open to see what develops during that time. “I think he probably is more focused on an appointed position, either in Texas or in Washington, or a federal appointment in Texas, because he’s not a particularly stir- ring campaigner,” Jillson said. Johnson previously served as a represen- tative for Texas House District 100. To se- cure that spot, he had to run as a Democrat — no way he would’ve won as a Republican, Jillson said. The same is true for the times he vied for mayor of Big D, he added. Even though the city office is technically nonpartisan, voters had assumed that Johnson was still a Demo- crat, which he needed to be to win. Jillson said it’s difficult for candidates to ascend from municipal to higher office, even for leaders of major cities. Take, for in- stance, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, who was defeated in a 2002 bid for U.S. Senate by then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, a Republican. It can hard be for municipal politicians to make inroads with folks outside city lines. “There is a great deal of work to be done to introduce yourself, and you’ve got to raise a great deal of money to do it,” Jillson said. “So, my assumption is that [Johnson is] keeping his options open, but the more nat- ural option for him would be an appointed position rather than an elected one — a par- tisan elected office.” The leap from middle-of-the-road Lone Star liberal to the deep right wing will be tricky, he continued, but Johnson will have to figure it out if he’s hoping to win statewide. “You can’t be a Joe Straus or a Dade Phelan or even a John Cornyn; you’ve got to be right of that some good distance,” Jillson said. “And you’ve got to be pretty light on your political and rhetorical feet to go from moderate Democrat to conservative Repub- lican and keep your lines straight.” ▼ PETS BEST FRIENDS IN NEED DALLAS’ ANIMAL SHELTER IS WAY OVER CAPACITY AND NEEDS HELP. BY JACOB VAUGHN D allas Animal Services’ (DAS) shelter has too many large dogs. It only has 300 kennels for 510 large dogs, put- ting it 70% over capacity. Staff and volun- teers at the shelter are currently having to double up dogs in kennels to compensate. That’s why DAS is calling on the community to adopt, foster, volunteer or donate to the shelter to help find positive outcomes for every placeable pet. All pets are currently free to adopt. They’re spayed/neutered, vac- cinated and microchipped. Pets also come with a voucher for a free veterinary visit. Sarah Sheek, the assistant general man- ager over community engagement at DAS, said the shelter is looking to find positive outcomes for as many pets as possible. But on average, the shelter takes in some 57 dogs and cats every day and is only able to find positive outcomes for 41 animals per day. Mary Martin, assistant director of DAS, said being over capacity can have numerous effects on the animals at the shelter. When they’re not over capacity, the dogs have a full kennel, with a place to sleep, eat and go to the bathroom if they can’t be taken out. Now, dogs are being housed in half kennels. “That adds stress to a dog,” Martin said. “Be- ing in a box to begin with is a very stressful situation. Then if you make the box smaller, that adds to stress. When you add to stress, that also adds to their inability to fight off disease.” Then, disease starts to become an issue at the shelter, Martin said. She said it also just makes the work harder on the team at DAS. Martin said the team likes to be able to take the dogs out and spend time with them, but with limited space, this, among other things, can be difficult. “Trying to get the facility looking good for the public is more difficult and that adds stress to the team because we want to look good for the public and smell good, but it’s really hard to keep up with it,” Martin said. When the shel- ter is over capacity, it’s usually with large dogs. Sheek said this is because it’s harder to find people who can adopt them. “Our small dogs come in and go right back out with a family,” Sheek said. “They move through the shelter very quickly, but our larger dogs are harder to place.” Additionally, for the first time since she’s worked at DAS, the shelter is having trouble placing puppies. “We have so many puppies in the facility that are waiting for homes – more puppies than we’ve seen in the past,” Sheek said. “So, it’s becoming an is- sue with large dogs and puppies as well.” Martin said this is a national trend and a very unfortunate one. “Dogs over 40 pounds are staying longer in shelters,” she said. “They have a longer length of stay, and when that length of stay is longer, it just adds to the capacity issues.” Asked why this is such a consistent prob- lem, Martin said it’s difficult to give a reason that’s backed by facts and statistics. Anecdot- ally though, she said it feels like it comes down to housing instability, at least in part. “We feel as though we’re in a housing situation that is difficult for people,” Martin said. She said finding housing for dogs over 40 pounds is hard on its own, but breed restrictions and in- surance restrictions can make it even harder. Martin said when people come in looking for a home for their pet, the shelter tries to ask what has brought them there. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of it ourselves,” Martin said. She said it’s often housing is- sues that bring people in. Sometimes it’s a lack of veterinary care. “I think a majority of it looks to be loss of housing,” Martin said. “Evictions factor in for sure,” Sheek said. “We have a good number of animals enter the facility because their owner is being evicted.” Sometimes people also aren’t able to bring their dogs when they move because of breed or size restrictions, or because they can’t pay pet deposits. There are resources out there to help people keep their pets. But Sheek said, “Un- fortunately when you don’t know exactly where you’re going to be sleeping, it can be very hard to find a solution that allows you to keep your animal.” Capacity issues at the shelter can also come down to the kind of dogs at the facility. “When you look closely at the dogs that we’re talking about, most of them are larger, short-haired dogs that some might construe as pitbull mixes,” Martin said. “Often they’re not. They could be lab mixes. … If every one of those dogs were fluffy, poodley looking things, we wouldn’t have the challenges that we have.” It’s hard to solve the problem partially because there’s not enough data about the problem, Martin said. Without more data, Martin said, “The firehose of need contin- ues to be pointed at us and we’ll be in this situation for what feels like forever.” She said before the pandemic, the shelter was able to transport larger numbers of ani- mals to other facilities across the country. Now those facilities are having capacity is- sues of their own. “It amplifies the prob- lem,” Martin said. Martin said she wanted to assure people who come to the shelter that the team there does everything it can to set them up with an animal best suited for them, and is always there to help. “We want people to feel really comfortable to come down, and when they do come down, if they have any questions, prob- lems or concerns, that they actually ask,” Mar- tin said. “We don’t want anyone walking out of the building without a pet if we can prevent it. We are here to help to be matchmakers.” Sheek said adopting and fostering are great ways to help, but people can volunteer and donate to the shelter to help as well. “We’re always looking for more volunteers,” Sheek said. Pets can be adopted or fostered in person at DAS’s main shelter at 1818 N. Westmoreland Road. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.; on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and on Sat- urday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ▼ CITY HALL LONG-TERM HEADACHE SHORT-TERM RENTAL OWNERS SUE DALLAS OVER NEW BAN. BY KELLY DEARMORE I n some ways, the late-night Dallas City Council vote on June 14 felt like a dra- matic end to a contentious debate that had endured for years. By a 12-3 vote, the city signaled it was ready to change the rules regarding short-term rental properties (STRs), drastically decreasing the areas such properties would be allowed. While a group of neighborhood activists against residential STRs celebrated, the owners and operators of Airbnb and VRBO properties had to regroup. But that June vote wasn’t the end of the story, just the end of a chapter. Last week the Dallas Short- Term Rental Alliance (DSTRA) announced it had sued the city of Dallas, seeking an in- junction that would allow STRs to continue operating throughout the city limits. The council’s decision to ban STRs in residential neighborhoods meant that an es- timated 94% of the operating STRs in Dallas would be outlawed come December, when the changes would take effect. Fueled by headlines involving STRs play- ing host to busted prostitution rings, out-of- control parties, gun violence and increased noise, traffic and trash throughout North Texas, the “Homes Not Hotels” side of the debate overpowered the progress that STR owners thought they had been making to find a compromise with the city between lawless- ness and a nearly all-encompassing ban. “Over the last three years, the DSTRA worked with the City on several City-initi- ated Task Forces to try and craft sensible reg- ulations about the handful of nuisance STR properties,” a press release from DSTRA stated. “Many of these sensible suggestions were rolled into the new Registration Ordi- nance also passed by the Council on June 14.” That comment illustrates one of the chief sticking points for STR hosts: The June vote signified the city going from A to Z without any stops. By the city’s own admission, STR owners have been told to register with the city and to pay hotel occupancy tax, al- though there has never been a way for the city to enforce the edict, much less penalize any who failed to register. courtesy SPCA of Texas Larger pit bull mixes are most in need. Unfair Park from p8
