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EPAS Unleashed
EPAS Unleashed
Community First
EPAS Unleashed is back, and we're kicking off with an episode that truly speaks to today's challenges. In this month's episode, Community First, we sit down with Kristen Gurrola and Alyssa Atilano from the Community and Pet Support Team at El Paso Animal Services to talk about pet ownership and the challenges many pet parents find themselves facing when navigating increased pet costs, lack of housing, and a struggling economy.
The CAPS program has evolved over the years with one goal in mind—keep families together. Tune in to find out how this small but mighty team works with the community to keep pets with the families that love them through education, resources, and support.
Want more information on available resources through our CAPS program? Visit www.ElPasoAnimalServices.org/PetSupport.
Have ideas for future Unleashed episodes? Email us at EPASoutreach@elpasotexas.gov! Don't forget to follow us on social media:
Hi everyone, welcome to EPAS as unleashed. I'm your host Jessica Navarro. We're super excited to be back. We took a bit of a hiatus, but we are really thrilled to have the podcast back up and running. We hope to bring you a monthly episode. um Today we have very special guests. We're going to be talking about the community and pet support team. We thought that this was a really great, um you know, first episode back um to EPAS Unleashed because it has a lot of great resources. So today we have Kristen Gurrola and Alyssa Atilano um Welcome. Thank you guys so much for being our first guests for the new year. um So first off, guess let's start a little bit um with intros about yourself. You know, how long you've been working here, what your roles are, and what community and pet support is all about. All right. Yeah. So the Community and Pet Support program is uh specifically designed for trying to help our community as best as we can with different resources that are available. um I am the CAP supervisor. oh My name is Kristen. I've been here for a little bit over two years now. And this is Alyssa. I'm Alyssa. I'm the CAP senior. So I've been with Animal Services for about four years. Recently came over to this Dark side. No, just kidding. But yes, I've been here uh in caps for what? Yeah, and it's been it's been a ride I love it Yeah, we'll get into that and just to clarify caps is just abbreviated for community and pet support So you might hear us say that a lot throughout the episode um So for the listeners who aren't too familiar with Caps, you kind of touched on it, Kristen, but can we go a little bit more into, I guess, what the main goals of the program are? Yeah, so. ah The main goals are definitely to try to see how we can support um our pets and community being able to stay together. So um one of the big ones is probably gonna be our pet pantry, which we'll talk about a little bit more too, but just in effort to try to make sure that there's not a reason to have to feel the need to surrender our pet because we're unable to provide something for them as far as food or supplies. And then we also have other resources available when it comes to people that may be considering having to owner or surrender. We'll try to counsel them. We'll try to see if there's anything we can be able to offer for them to try to just again support keeping them together So I think those are two biggest things, but we also handle a couple of other things So like adoption returns usually come through us um any disposal requests So like if we have pets at home that passed away and they're needing to come here to get disposed of um We help out with those as well um and some other uh Things kind of here and there but I think those are kind of our big bigger programs in it. Yeah, we do focus, um I want to say 95 to 100 % of like owned animals, um owned pets. um And we just try to provide a lot of education, a lot of knowledge. um Some owners, some pet owners just don't have access to the education. So a lot of the times they come here, and we are the first ones to kind of tell them all the things that they need to know. And then like Kristen said, we help them with. um anything from maybe finding resources to get their pet up healthy up to day on vaccines, maybe spayed or neutered, and then of course to prevent owner's renders. Yeah, and um you know, with this little I guess hiatus that we took from the podcast, one of the main reasons was because this program was put under the marketing and public engagement team. So I'm glad that you mentioned education because, you know, I'm the education and outreach coordinator. And some people might wonder, you know, why was this program kind of put under um us? But it does have a lot to do with education. And throughout this episode, I think we're really going to touch on that because um without You know, the counseling's that we have with people, um we might just get a surrender in, but there's a lot of times where we're able to inform the community about a different option. um I guess that's kind of where CAPS fits into the bigger role of El Paso Animal Services, to increase those positive outcomes, reduce these surrenders or returns. um But what challenges are you guys seeing that families commonly face when um they come to you all for help. I think the biggest one is probably, especially right now, the cost of owning a Especially, you know, we have a lot of, we're a border city, so a lot of people are getting pets from, oh, military too, we're also a military base, so people have pets from other places that don't have, you know, strict laws, Juarez. And a lot of these pets, they move in with a friend and their pet is also not fixed. And then their friend and their friend's pet, they make babies and then they realize how expensive it is to have nine dogs that are not fixed, that are not vaccinated. So I think the biggest thing that we see or a lot of the help that we give out is a result of an owner not being able to afford the cost of a pet, especially preventative care. as well as experiencing homelessness, experiencing eviction. um What else? That was actually gonna be one of the ones that I brought up, uh the housing uh situation, just because I do feel like we do tend to get a lot of individuals that are having issues with either their property manager, their landlord, um or the pets either aren't allowed at all, or they do have very uh pricey, like, and stuff. that too can add up and obviously like for anybody that could be struggling just kind of like day to day uh when it comes to keeping the pet and having that additional expense sometimes like that's where they are coming to us because they feel like they don't have another option. Yeah especially like military military housing right here in Forkless like they do have a lot of breed restrictions a lot of people don't or aren't aware of the breed restrictions or they kind of ignore it and then when it they're found, it's like, my gosh, I need to get rid of my pit bull. housing is probably one of the biggest ones. And then a lot of like medical issues that their pets are experiencing going back to like the cost of an animal, um you know, where they don't spay their pet and then their pet comes in with pyometria or some sort of cancer or something that could have been prevented. And now they're here asking for help. Like, what do I do? So that is probably one of the big ones too. Yeah, yeah, definitely. um So I know that with um CAPS, a lot of changes were made in 2025. um So I think we kind of want to discuss more on like it being more community, I guess, first rather than shelter first, because like you guys are discussing, you know, there are some situations where it's inevitable that, you know, the surrender, there's not much we can do with, um you know, military orders or um you know the cost of living you know it's just going up and there's not much that we can do with that. There are some resources that we can definitely provide but we really wanted to shift from you know people reaching out to the shelter first um as their only option. So can we kind of talk about like those changes and why we really want to push the community to reach out to other um options first. Yeah. Yeah. So. um I think that one of the biggest things and it's not um something that is completely new. So a lot of people have probably heard us talk about the rehoming platform that we use um a lot, home to home. We've been using it for a couple of years now, but we're really doubling down and just kind of emphasizing on like the community members that are coming to us that are seeking help um that we really want to try to give our best effort in promoting and seeing if we might be able to privately rehome first. A lot of times even just being able to kind of utilize our platform, uh kind of being able to increase their visibility, get them asked about more, whether they're reaching out to us or whether they're reaching out to them, trying to put them in contact so that way, even if it is inevitable they're unable to keep their pet, maybe we can be able to get them right home before they're ever having to actually endure the stress of coming into the shelter. um Because once they get here, that's the tough part. Like we never know exactly how they're gonna do once they do get here. um They all handle it differently. Sometimes it's behaviorally, sometimes it's medically. So I mean, it's just all these different things that kind of come into play and make it that much more difficult to find a home for them once they're here versus somebody at home that already knows their pet. They know what they like, they know what they don't like, um and kind of what they think might be the better uh home for them versus trying to learn that personality behind the kennel. um Because they shut down a lot of times and they're not gonna show their true personality. So it's really hard to know how we're gonna be able to find that ideal home without all of that information from where they were previously at. So I think the best ones that can be the advocates for their pets is gonna be the owners just because they know them best. And so I think that's gonna be probably the biggest thing is just really emphasizing that in order for them to even be considered eligible, so to speak, as far as being able to surrender here, you have to try to privately be home first. You need to see some type of effort. that you're trying to go out and this is really your last resort in having to bring them here. Yeah, I feel like shelters, well, we're probably the biggest shelter in my, I don't know, in El Paso, but uh we're the shelter. There's other rescues, right? And like Kristen said, we wanna push them to a new home. We don't even want the animal to go to another rescue. But we do want to make, we want this community uh first, uh perspective, I guess you should say, or push. um Because the shelters, want to focus, at least we don't want to focus, but we have to focus on the cruelty cases, the hoarding cases, the uh strays, like El Paso has so many strays. This morning, there was like four stray dogs this morning as I was driving to Starbucks. And we want to be able to, in a way, prioritize those animals that don't have a home or are in bad situations. And the only way we can do that is if we kind of shift the way that owners renders are coming in and like Kristen said, like pushing the rehoming process first. Yeah, definitely. And I mean, like you were saying, Kristen, I mean, we don't really see their true personality here. You know, the reason why I started working here is because my pet really did go missing and she didn't have, you know, a collar or tag or anything like that. I thought, you know, I was a good pet. I know, I know. ah that I was a good pet owner because she was an inside dog. Whatever, didn't need a microchip. I didn't even know what a microchip was. But when I came here to look, I saw hundreds and hundreds of animals looking at me and I was bothering them, looking in, trying to find my dog and they were getting scared. I'm a stranger. I'm looking at them. I'm trying to find my dog, but ah my dog goes, she is super outgoing. She's a husky. She's, you know, all over the place. Very friendly. But when I saw her here, I almost didn't think it was her because she was just curled up into a ball. She was, she just didn't look herself. She was terrified here. And when I'm teaching kiddos too, I also tell them, you know, if one of your dogs barks at home and you know, imagine how loud that is. I have five dogs. They all start barking once one of them does, but imagine times, yeah, times five, you know, there's, you know, hundreds of animals here, so it's really loud. can't really get a good night's sleep. So anybody's personality is gonna be different in that type of situation. um we really do try to push home to home rather than home to shelter. um But speaking on that, what does CAPS have to help families? What are different, I guess, resources that we can offer to try to keep these pets in a home? I want to say the most easily accessible is going to be the microchip. So not only do we have the microchip here at the shelter every single day that we're open for free for anybody that comes in, uh but we canvas, right? And so microchipping, it's probably like the main one. want to say the most, one of the most important ones, I think. And then we have the pep pantry. um We have, what else do we have? Yeah, have supplies like crates. a lot of times too we get, um I mean, very common issues that pet owners are going to struggle with even with younger dogs, know, destructiveness, um anxiety, know, escaping. So we do have like trolley systems that we try to utilize um or, you know, offer crates when we can. um That way we can be able to kind of just incorporate maybe just a little bit of like behavior advice or like training advice. to kind of see if that might help them as well instead of having to worry about bringing them here because they don't have time or because they are having some destructiveness at home. That is something that very easily can start getting addressed with enrichment at home. um They're probably bored, they're probably teething. There are some things that we can try to kind of problem solve first before going directly to the surrender. So I definitely feel like those are just a few things, but obviously like. Supplies like you know collars leashes P pads other kind of miscellaneous items that sometimes get donated in there some people donate like Scratching scratch trees. Oh my gosh cat lady. I don't even have scratchers. Yeah for cats, too I mean, I know we're probably gonna focus a lot about dogs, but we do get you know, just as not as many I don't know I was like cat request, but we do definitely still get a lot. So I mean And some of them could be kind of like what you were mentioning earlier, like unintentional letters. But I do think that some of them also are just kind of like regular pet behaviors that maybe people don't understand and they don't know how to address them. Yeah. And so that's going back to like the biggest thing, of course, the microchips, but is education. A lot of people come to us and they're saying, you know, I need to surrender my cat because it keeps scratching on my couch. And I go, have you tried a cat scratcher? And they're like, what's that? So then, uh someone just donated a cat scratcher. Like, you can take it. And then we give them resources and education and then they don't have to surrender the cat because now their cat scratches on the cat scratcher. So I feel like that is probably one of the biggest things other than like the tangible resources like pet pantry, all the supplies, um, low cost, uh, services. also try to connect them to like boarding facilities, right? So in some cases they come to us because they need a surrender because they feel like it's the only option, but they're only going to be out for like three weeks. They're going to be back. They don't really want to surrender the pet. So we can provide them with a list of boarding places so that they can put their dog or cat in a doggy hotel. um We also have a list of pet friendly apartments m too because I think that's just something that we happen to get a lot of requests from because we hear it all the time that there are either pet restrictions or just they're not allowed altogether. um I mean, that's always a tough thing for anybody that's having to move and having to consider, you know, taking all their pets with them. Ideally, we want all of them to be able to take their pets wherever it is that they're going, but maybe sometimes they just don't know where to look. So we're trying to kind of consolidate that so that they can come here and we can help them kind of get that first, I guess, step and then see if we can curb the reason to surrender altogether. Yeah, Yeah, so definitely a lot of education, because I mean, I hear you guys on the phone or in person with people having these discussions, asking questions, and I think that it's important not for people to know that um we're not gonna judge you. Before I started working here, mean, again, I thought I was a good pet owner. She was inside, she was getting love, she was getting food, she was getting water, she was getting groomed, whatever. But there's always more that we could do or if we're having problems with. Um, like you mentioned, Kristen destructiveness. didn't know about enrichment before I started working here. And I think it's important that people understand that just because you know, doesn't mean that another person. Like I, the same thing with you, I used to think I was like the world's best cat mom, but I never vaccinated my indoor cats because I was like, why they're inside, know, but then now being in caps, I'm like, well, what if, what if something happens and I need to board them? Yeah, no one's going to accept them unless they're vaccinated. Yeah. Or what if they get loose and they get attacked by another cat? Like, so there's so I start now that I'm in caps, I start thinking of like all the what ifs and not to be like anxiety ridden, but to prepare myself and like think about the future and think about the worst possible thing that could happen and make sure my pet is like set up for success. Because yeah, it's and but it's hard. I know I was 19 when I got my first cat, so I didn't have the money for vaccines and things like that. Um, but so that, think that's why our program's pretty important. because it's a lot of people don't really understand why certain things are put in place. They don't understand why every pet in El Paso needs a microchip, you know, until their pet gets lost and they're like, Oh, okay. That makes sense. So I think that's, that's also why really good thing about, yeah. Yeah. Oh, you know, people, they don't know that they need something until they need until they need it. Yeah. And we're here to kind of help them. But yeah, like you said, Like you said, without judgment, for sure. Yes. um And I know we mentioned money is an issue. A lot of times with um pet owners, everything is getting more expensive. And there's not much that we can do with that. But there is our pet pantry. So I would like to touch on the pet pantry and what the program is all about. Yeah. So the pet pantry, kind of like we were talking about a little bit earlier, um primarily is for food. I mean we just want to be able to help dogs and cats Every now and then we'll get some other random items in there So if you do happen to have like birds or hamsters or something you can ask us We're more than happy to check to see what we have back there um But primarily for that um some of the new additions that we've gone ahead and made to our pit pantry We're actually um so anybody that is a resident of El Paso can be enrolled in our pit pantry And then what we have them do during that enrollment is basically let us know all of the pets in their home that they're providing food for, or that they're having to care for. So that way we can have just kind of a head count of like who it is that we're needing to help out. um We're trying to give them like a good portion of food for like a half supply at least of a month. So it's a once a month service that you can get. um You come in, you can do the enrollment either online or you can do it here in person with us. And then after that point, you can get once a month um for the next six months up until we're able to verify that all of our pets are up to date with vaccines. They're all microchipped and they're all spayed and neutered. That's the newer addition to it, em but primarily because we are always still getting a lot of requests for unintentional litters and surrender requests for kittens and puppies. And, you know, not because we don't like kittens or puppies, but we have way too many of them. And we don't need more. There are plenty of dogs that are also waiting for their opportunity to go home. So it's just. way too much to be considering bringing more in and then having to worry about now supplying more food because now we have babies. So that's our newest addition. We may still kind of get some people not really sure about that, but that's where we just have that conversation about why the microchips are important, why the vaccines are important, and why the spade and neuter is important. So there is that six month grace period where we can allow people to still continue getting food until they're able to get all that stuff done. And if we're having difficulty getting that stuff done, then communicate that with us. That way we can try to see if there's anything that we can do to help out. Especially in the situations where we have multiple pets, because I know that it adds up. And our main thing is we just want to make sure that your pets are healthy, that they're taken care of, they're not lacking anything. And that way you have a little bit more peace of mind too. And you can kind of focus on other things that are causing stress in your life versus this being one of them. Yeah, especially like our pet pantry. We have a lot of applicants that have more than like seven Dogs or cats and a lot of the times, especially, I don't know what our true demographic is, but we do have some older pet pantry clients who have seven or nine or even 12 dogs and they can't keep track of who has what, who needs a vaccine, who needs this. So our pet pantry also helps with that. So in the sense of organizing what the pet needs, because they apply, they say they have seven and we're gonna look through all seven and see what they're missing. If they're missing anything, And the items that they're missing, for example, let's say a rabies vaccine. uh We want to make sure that they get it up to date. We give them that six months. And it's not only so that, you know, their pet is healthy. Yes, that is true. But, you know, we also want to make sure, let's say they ever get sighted or some, well, attempt to get sighted. They don't because they have all the necessary em vaccines. Yeah. Requirements and everything. So we want to set them and their pets up for success. while still providing them help uh once a month. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, it's not to keep anybody out of the program or anything like that. Like you guys are both mentioning, it's for a healthier community for the pets to be up to date with everything that they need, like you mentioned. So I think it's really important that these changes were made. And I think it does kind of. keep the owners more accountable. And, you know, of course, maybe they might not need it um every month or they might only need it to get back on their feet for whatever um is happening in their life. But I do definitely think that it makes a difference um in our community. So do you guys have any memorable stories that you might want to share where you feel like the Pet Pantry really did help somebody out? ah I do have one so there was an individual that had come in uh I guess he was having some hard times and he had actually ended up in the hospital for I don't know exactly how long uh And while he was in the hospital, he had gotten notified that his pet was picked up So his dog was here ah and so he had no interest in losing his dog. So once he did finally get Discharged he came here. He was going through the process of reclaiming ah and he did ah notify one of our staff members like asking if you can get a little bit of food. And he didn't even know that the pet pantry was like a thing. So they kind of explained it briefly to him and then they went ahead and they, you know, transferred him over to our line. I went ahead and I talked to him, I got him all enrolled and he was very grateful. You know, the fact that we were able to provide food for the pet that he was picking up so that he didn't have to worry about going and figuring out how he was gonna purchase food that right then and there. But also so that he knew that you know, if next month you're still having difficulty, you can come back and you can get some more. Like, I mean, this is just something to kind of help you out for now, um but now you're enrolled and now you can keep coming back. So I definitely think that he was super grateful and I am glad that that dog was able to get reclaimed. You know, she didn't have to stay here another day um and she was fed. And I guess um also. know, community members might not need the program, but maybe they're interested in helping. So how would they be able to help? So donations. That's the I mentioned it earlier. That is like the bulk of where we get our supplies from for pet pantry, especially like other miscellaneous things, uh know, litter, litter boxes, toys, things like that. Donations would would be the biggest thing. And I know a lot of. There are some community members who get Pet Pantry and they want a specific brand sometimes, and that may not be the ones that we get, but a donation of that brand might come in and they're like, yay. So donations are the biggest thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's all going back to the community. So definitely if you're able to donate to the Pet Pantry program, I think this is one of our... best programs that we have here at the shelter for our community. um So if anybody does want to help, definitely look into donating. But in addition, ah when uh we're looking to donate, we want to donate to the Friends of Foundation for the Pet Pantry. um And then we also do uh low cost services for the community as well because of course when we're having all these different requirements, there might be of course uh money issues when people are asking for help with food. We might also need help with vaccines and microchip and other services. So can we talk about these, I know Melissa you mentioned that we have the microchips for free. um Why is it so important for these pets to have a microchip and for us to have those free for the community? So microchips are the fastest, easiest, I think, way to reunite your pet if your pet were to ever get lost. um It's not a GPS. A lot of people do think it's a GPS. It's not. Unfortunately, that would be very cool if it was. But no, it's just like a little identification tag. tells us who their owners are. um It's implanted under their skin. And as once you register it, it should stay registered unless you re home or update any information. Uh, we would scan the pet and we can contact you if your pet were to ever get lost. um, that is why we have it free because of how many strays we have and how many come in and we're not able to contact anybody. And they're just sitting here waiting for either their owners to come or to be adopted. So the microchip would be the first and easiest way for us to figure out who the dog is, where it belongs. so I think. That is probably the main reason why we have it free because we want to get these pets back home. Yeah. And I think a lot of times people, I don't know if they just get worried because sometimes they'll see the needle and the needle's kind of thick, you know, but it's a one and done type of thing. It's permanent. You never have to do it again. Um, it is better to do it when they're younger. That way you're not really having to worry about them reacting to it as much because they have a lot more loose skin. Um, they're not really going to remember or while it's getting spayed too. Or while it's getting spayed or as under so I mean there are a lot of different I guess Hesitations that people may have for it, but I also think that it's really important to especially if you ever I mean there's always a possibility that you know Somebody could end up picking up the dog and they're assuming that you know, it doesn't belong to anybody I'm gonna go ahead and keep it that way you just know that if that pet ever goes to a shelter or ever goes to the vet that once they scan it they're gonna be able to look up the information and they're gonna be able to to link it to somebody else. So I think that's the best way to be able to have an ownership linked to a person so that there isn't anybody that's able to like steal your pet. And that way you know that if they ever end up having to come here that you will get contacted. But just to kind of keep that on that same note, um all the information has to be updated. So if you ever move, if you ever get a new phone. Yeah, if you ever read home, that's a big one because especially with us that we get a lot of owner surrender requests. uh A lot of times dogs will come in and then we'll contact the owner and they're like, well, I re-homed such and such time ago, but I don't know to who, I don't have any information. And then that, it just kind of sucks for the pet because they're kind of a sitting duck in a sense because we can't technically do anything to them because they're not legally ours yet. We have to um honor what we refer to as an emancipation period to see if that pet's gonna either get reclaimed or if they're gonna end up getting surrendered. And so... We wanna try to avoid them coming in here as much as we can, whether it's a straight or an owned pet. uh But especially when they're coming in and we know that they already have a microchip, it should be that much easier to just send it back out. Yeah. Yeah. And I know there's a lot of like misconceptions around microchips. know, sometimes we get people that again, think it's a GPS tracker and they don't want their dog to be tracked for whatever reason. Yeah. Or, you know, I don't know, conspiracy theorists or something. I guess talking about any misconceptions do you guys hear any that you would like to clear up? I think the tracker is probably the biggest one. Yeah, but another one I have heard um is If the pets microchip can be removed so that it's not under their name anymore Okay, like you don't need to all we need to do is update the information so if that pet ends up coming in here and you know, and and that's just something that like anybody that's coming in here They're gonna get microchipped anyway So when they leave when they get adopted or when they get reclaimed all that information is gonna be linked to whoever it is So um in the same token, if somebody happens to rehome their pet and the microchip is registered under that person, there's a couple of ways that you can go about it. Obviously, directly through the chip company, you can come here. That way we can help you with making sure everything is properly updated. And then we also have a contract that we've written up to be able to show as proof, look, I rehomed it to this person. This is previous owner's information. This is new owner's information. That way we have another. paper trail in a sense of being able to know like who's gonna be the legal owner for this. So I think that's one of the biggest things because a lot of times we do definitely get that um where they're just under the assumption like well the new owner was gonna change it but they actually can't without the original owner's permission. There is some there is responsibility when you have a microchip I think that's something sometimes forgotten but a big one that I And like I kind of mentioned they don't need it. They're indoors. They don't need a microchip. I the same thing. Yeah, they do because sometimes things happen Yeah, you know and the door, know someone leaves your door open and then they run away or the wind takes the gate and they run away so Yeah, they do need the microchip and a lot of people do think oh, I don't have money for that. It's expensive Well at some clinics. Yes some clinics it may be like 15 20 dollars, but with us, it'll be free. We got you And we don't only just do three microchips out in the community. We also do canvassing. We go door to door and we try to get those pets microchipped. And again, it's just because it's so important to have that microchip. You never think it's going to happen to you until it happens to you. I was the same way. I didn't know what a microchip was. my dog was found like a block away, they would have just taken my dog straight back to me instead of me freaking out for like six hours trying to find her, know, and crying and going crazy looking for her and stuff. She would have just been taken back to my home. And, again, you never think it's going to happen to you and then it happens and you're going to regret not getting that microchip because then that you would have been reunited with your pen. In your case, you got lucky, but that doesn't always happen. Yeah. Especially, you know, Especially if it's like a real fancy breed. Some people say, Oh, I just, you know, then you'll never see your head again. that's definitely, definitely want to make sure you have a microchip. Cause I saw a video actually recently where they said that they took a, it was like a tick tock that somebody took their pet to the vet. Yeah. Um, and the vet scan the chip and the chip came up with someone else and they still notified that person. So I think even some vet clinics will, will contact you even if your pet has been missing for years and years, and then it pops up at a vet clinic somewhere. I'll contact you. They'll say your pet came in. So. I think they should that actually happened one time when I was volunteering at a vet clinic as well. They're about to do surgery on a cat. The cat was already sedated. They were ready to start opening up and then they scanned him and he had a microchip to a different person. So they had to put everything on hold and the cat was already fixed. I was like, well, there you go. You don't have to do a surgery at all. But that other person, yeah, that other person had to get notified that their pet was there at the clinic. So they do have that legal responsibility to have to reach out. I think another thing too that can kind of be uh like while we're on the topic of microchips is just the fact that the the microchip Again, it's just like a one and done thing. You know, it's it's permanent um and also I feel like it's just the best way to to um be able to Make sure that everything is staying under your information Even if you don't want necessarily want to go directly through us and you want to go straight through the company so like we use 24 pet watch but like in the event that your pet does go missing, you can still file a loss report with them as well. So that way, if you ever move outside of city limits or you're having to move across the country or like because we do have a lot of military members, you can make a loss report directly through the chip company because that's still just uh probably worldwide nationwide, depending on what company it is, uh tool that people can be able to use to notify you that you're still your pet is still linked to you. It doesn't necessarily have to be through the city. Yeah, and I mean, we see it here too. There's animals that come in that have had a microchip and they've been missing for five years or whatever the case. they still are able to go back to their original owners because of that microchip. So it's definitely important. um And we have so many free events, not only here, but out in our community. So just get that chip done. There's so many animals that still come in with no chips and I just don't get it. I don't get it. It's hard. because a lot of times people will be like, Oh, nervous. I don't want to see. then we're just like, done. then I'm just like, that's it. Yeah. just like, sometimes it literally takes like two seconds. Yeah. Sometimes like our our suspence and our like worries are just more than what the dog or the pet is actually going to feel. So yeah, just trust us. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Definitely. The pet wants it. They want to be found. Trust me. Yeah, yeah, definitely. They want to get back home. They want to get back home. And also speaking on different low cost options. um What else do we offer for the community? So we have a lot of um offsite events where we will offer low cost services. So can we kind of talk a little bit about that? um that's definitely, I think, a way for these pet pantry uh clients to get low cost options because again, there might be a money struggle. Yeah, we do try to connect them to all of. like all of the low cost resources that are out there, low cost band neuter, uh low cost vaccines. So we really do try to get them to utilize those services. And case by case, we understand that there are sometimes that they absolutely cannot pay anything. So we do really try to work with them on like providing them those resources within that six month period. Sometimes if it's urgent, know, their pet just continuously has babies. In those cases, we would try to do something even quicker. um And so it is by case by case, like how we do at least here at the shelter, but we always try to connect them to our offsite events. Yeah, at the events, a lot of times we'll have different partnering clinics that will go out there and they'll try to offer. I think I saw that there was one being advertised for this week. the 13th, I think, or 14th. Yeah. So I mean if you go to like our website on our calendar they have all the different events that are listed out on there and it'll specify like if there's gonna be vaccines at that event if there's gonna be microchips out of that event um and then just kind of in between all of that we also have like the canvassing efforts where we actually will go to like the different neighborhoods and then go literally door to door and offer like hey do you have pets? Like do you need a microchip? Are they microchipped? Maybe they don't know what it is so we're kind of explaining it right then and there but I mean, that too sometimes can just go a long way because we do have a lot of older members that aren't able to maybe get transportation to come down here or they don't know that it's an option. And so when we're going to them, it's just one less thing that they have to worry about. We just have them bring the pet out and we'll do it right there. And then that's it. So they're available. They could just contact us. Email is the best way. A lot of people, get some emails, I need help. I don't know what to do. I don't have money. And so we'll usually reach out and get them an answer within 24, 48 hours usually. So we can help them. We just need to have them reach out to us. So now we're going to go into the monster of caps, which is the pet surrendering. we kind of talked about the most common reasons for families coming to surrender a pet. But before surrendering becomes an option, what different support can we um offer as CAPS? We kind of talked about some, you know, boarding, but if we can kind of expand a little bit on the different resources that we try to offer. Yeah, behavior resources, boarding resources, like you said, connecting them with those types of resources. um Preventative resources vaccines spay and neuter. You'll hear me say this a lot a lot of it a neuter right a lot of accidental litters a lot of those that I need to surrender my 12 puppies because my dog had puppies and I can't keep 12 puppies so a lot of those we try to push that before Having to have them deal with having to surrender 12 puppies Yeah, exactly because we want to make sure that before any of those puppies are even having to come in here if we're Unable to get them rehomed before that point um Then we need to make sure that we're not gonna have another one in a couple of months, right? Yeah If you have mom if you have dad if you have both we're gonna try to get them both fixed um Because we don't need to end up here again. And I mean we're just trying to and and again It's not just because we're not wanting to help the pups or kittens that are gonna be born um But we just have to like that's just the reality of it. There's just too many. There's not enough adopters They're not leaving as fast as they're coming in ah I mean, if they were, it would be a completely different story, but we're not, and this is our reality. So this is kind of what we have to really combat it with is spay and neuter, because I think that's the only really effective way of being able to try to minimize the overpopulation. And I mean, we already have a very big issue with strays as it is, ah but we do want to make sure that those that have their own personal pets that are having babies as well, that they're held accountable because they're contributing to the problem, and they're not. I know a lot of times people will come here with that expectation of like, know, they're coming here, they're gonna find a good home, we're gonna find them a good home. And we will do our best once they do get here. But we can't always guarantee like what that outcome is gonna be or how long it will take for them to get that outcome. As a matter of fact, we actually had an adoption return yesterday for a dog that has literally been here for her whole life. She was abandoned a year ago and she grew up in the shelter. And so she's been here this whole time. She got adopted, unfortunately it didn't work out. That person had a breed restriction, so they did have to bring her back. So she's right back to where she was at. And I mean, it just, it sucks for her because as a puppy and up until now, she still hasn't had that opportunity to leave. And that's just the part of it that's like, who are we gonna try to prioritize? Like the pets that are already here or the ones that are just barely gonna be born? Because generally speaking, yes, puppies and kittens tend to go faster. um But also those guys are the ones that they kind of they're a package deal because they're gonna come with a lot of training a lot of energy um And we don't want to end up also right back You know in a situation where they're feeling like they have to surrender because they can't keep up with a pet because it's being distracted because it's Having potty training issues or because it's teething and it's being very mouthy So those things are also things that should be considered when taking a puppy because it is gonna be a lifelong commitment for 15 plus years, hopefully, you if it's a good ideal lifespan um That way we know that that pet isn't gonna have to come to the shelter at all anymore You know, so we want to try to really push the span in or I think that's the biggest one um The microchips for sure. I think another one too is just kind of Allowing people to know about the pet pantry that way if there are certain supplies that they're needing specifically They can let us know too so that we can see And then always from there, I think it would just be kind of like a case by case basis, like what's going on individually at each home. Because sometimes it could be, you know, like, I don't know, like some type of a health issue that maybe like kind of a simple fix that we can kind of get with our, techs poke their brains, see if we can maybe just offer some type of advice. um And then maybe that too will help them to be able to keep working with that pet. Like spraying, you know, like, my cat sprays, my dog sprays. I had somebody not too long ago was like, my male dog is just peeing all over the house. I'm like, me too. And I said, have you tried the male wraps? And they're like, what's that? And we had one in the pantry and he goes, try that. Never heard from her, so I'm pretty sure it worked out because my dog, I put it on him and it stops because they spray, but I asked, is he neutered? And she said, no. I said, let's do that too, right? So let's neuter him. She's like, yeah. And she didn't know that the neutering can help marking. So those things like that. I think you just kind of reminded me because I feel like so not only obviously to prevent like unintentional litters, but there are a lot of undesirable behaviors that will come with a pet being unaltered. On top of the medical risks too, because there are a lot of risks of increased like cancers that can develop, uh but also like the marking, uh know, fighting, being territorial, being competitive, all of those different things too. or escaping, that's a big one too. Here at El Paso, feel like we're notorious for having short walls, but we have nothing but large ones. Our builders don't build very high. Yeah, so I mean in a world where you've got a short fence and an intact dog, they're gonna smell other animals that may still also be intact around them too. And they're gonna wanna go seek them out. They're still animals at the end of the day. They're gonna be driven by whatever hormones are in their body. So that's where we have to try to be proactive or like preventative to be able to avoid that that urge to even go out and seek something else. So yeah, I think that a lot of the undesirable behaviors a lot of times can be helped with this ban. Yeah, and like back to escaping, like a lot of the times, especially people who are here to reclaim their pet. um And then they get signed into our line because before they reclaimed, they want to know if they can surrender. Yeah. And so I'm like, why? Well, this is like the third time, fifth time, eighth time that the dog has escaped. I'm like, well, it's a male. You know, he is he your only dog? She says, yes. Well, they don't have social media. They don't have Tinder. Go find somebody, you know? So we got to put like, let's get him neutered. Let's get him a tether. The trolley system tethers are really cool. I didn't even know that was a thing. Yeah. But like you can connect it to two trees. And then your dog still has, cause a lot of people don't want the tether because they feel bad that their dog is like tied up, you know, but this trolley one is they still have like free range of the backyard. So it's really cool. I gave one to my neighbor and I think he likes it. So that has prevented. haven't seen my neighbor's dog jump the yard since then. Um, but so in those cases, you know, we were like, Kristen said, we're listening to their problem and their issue is like why they're considering surrendering and they're like, Oh, okay. Easy fix. Let's get them neutered. Let's get them the thing. then in most cases, I think it. it works out and be like, oh, okay, yeah. Yeah. And for us, I mean, it's an easy fix because we're in animal welfare. We were like, oh, okay, your dog's jumping probably because it's not fixed. Yeah. And that's the reason why my dog jumped. She wasn't fixed and she was trying to find a friend or whatever, you know, and she tried to jump again. I was watching her this time. I caught her in the front and I was like, what are you doing? And actually here walking through the person who helped me, they were asking me those questions. They were having a conversation with me like, oh, like has she gotten out before, you know, whatever. And they mentioned, oh, is she spayed? And I said, no, I mean, I don't know what that is really. Yeah. What do you mean? And so they told me that that was probably one of the reasons why and got her fixed, you know, maybe like a month after and she never jumped again. She's seven and a half now. She may be catching. here. She's like, I don't want to come back. No, she tried again. She did. That's when I caught her in the front. But I think staying and neutering definitely is one of the main, guess. Preventative measures. Yes, definitely. And we have low cost options for our community. So definitely reach out and, you know, we can see what we can do, because not only do we have those low cost options, but there are know other other clinics that we can refer you know to because there's there's a lot of options you know spaying and neutering is so important and it's not only helping their pet with you know their health you know any maybe behavior problems that they're having um but it's also helping the shelter dogs too and the shelter cats you know because really these pets that are being born they're just taking from their homes you know there's just not enough homes here So there's not, and we really need to start thinking more about um the community as a whole. If you're a pet owner and you're not spaying and neutering, think about the other pets that are in this area that it could take away from. Yeah, I think our department is really big on looking at the big picture and thinking of the future, thinking of all the possibilities, thinking about everybody else and what one. like that, oops, that trickling effect. Yes, definitely. We see it firsthand, that trickling. Yeah, yeah. And cycle. And I mean, sometimes, unfortunately, as much as we have these conversations, as much as resources as we offer, there are always going to be surrenders no matter what. And so when it does come to that, you know, what does that look like for? or pet owners that unfortunately they just don't have another option. So we get a lot of surrenders. Did you get the number by chance, Kristen? Yes, so the total surrenders that we got was, the request was 930. 930, but this was actually just in September because we started, we have a different tracking system for right now. So we have 930 surrender requests from September to now. and we've had 613 actual intakes. So that's about a 35%. Yeah. I want to say like some of them that haven't come in. Yeah. Some of them are like, are emergent and we, we are at like, we, we meet a roadblock. I don't know what the better way to say it is, but you know, like for example, I had a gentleman who he was going into a, a nursing home. He couldn't care for his large pit bull. Um, and so in those cases, like we try to help them as best as possible. We try to put them on home to home, but we have a lot of, you know, elderly people who don't have social media. They don't have, so in those cases, it is a little bit of a different process. we do want to see, like we, we want to try every option before actually surrendering. But in some cases, like the older gentleman that I was just telling you about, like we do have to, unfortunately bring in this pet cause he didn't have any other family, you know? Um, and he was going into this nursing home like the next day. So, Um, in those cases, you know, we do see the real issue and then we have to bring them in. But in other cases where we have a little bit more time, you know, someone is saying, well, I'm moving in May, you know, we're going to, like Kristen said, we're going to have them one do an application and then to get on that home to home, uh, rehoming website. We want to see a rehoming effort for at least like 30 days. Um, and then after that, um, we'll usually they reach out to us to see if they still need help in some cases they don't, um, somebody reached out to them and then they took their pet. came in to the owner transfer and. That was it. that would be like the best case scenario. But in other cases, unfortunately, you know, after that time hits, if they weren't able to rehome their pet, sometimes we do end up bringing it into the shelter. And luckily, sometimes a rescue is waiting for that dog. And then we transfer it out to a rescue that was like breed specific sometimes. um And so I think it looks like I think one of the things to kind of keep in mind for anybody that is either in the process of needing to surrender or maybe they're considering that they're having to uh own or surrender. I think one thing to really keep in mind is that it's going to be a lot easier to be able to rehome or get your pet accepted into a rescue when they have everything medically that they need. Right. So that's another reason why too, like, I mean, obviously the microchip is super easy to do. uh But that way they can go ahead and start working and getting them adoption ready. So usually having them already spayed or neutered, having them uh already vaccinated, updated with their vaccines because If that pet were to come in, that's also gonna play a role into where population wise, we're able to place the dog because- And how quick they're gonna be adopted. Exactly, yeah, because they're not having to wait around to get the surgery before they can be officially adopted. They wouldn't have to go as a foster first before the surgery can be scheduled. um So it does help, and then especially for those people that are trying to reach out to different rescues and stuff, if they already know that they have all that stuff, It's gonna be easier for the rescue because they don't have to arrange anything right? just gonna take it and they're just gonna find someone for it Yeah rescues more likely to like help I think yeah, so I think that's kind of one of the big um things that will tell people to like okay now that we're Starting the surrender process now that you're actively gonna be trying to bring home. Let's work on getting them everything Let's get them updated with everything um That way when they are coming in, maybe they just need a booster and then they can go straight onto the adoption floor Yeah, or like Alyssa said maybe we already have uh rescue transfer that's like interested in them. So that way we can just go ahead and bring them in and send them right back out. Yeah. So this, mean, the process is really to benefit, you know, the pet 100 % because we're exploring all our options before they come to the shelter. We're making sure that, you know, we're trying to get them vaccinated, trying to get them, you know, their spay or neuter surgery and all that. So that they come in and hopefully they're in and out. You know, best case scenario is that they don't come here, but if they do, if they have everything, you know, that's really better. to make it as quick as possible. Yeah. They're stay. We don't want it long. Yes. Um, so can, if you guys have any stories, success stories, um, that really demonstrate the importance of caps, would you like to share anything that you can think about? There's a lot. know there's a lot. mean, I hear you guys all the time. You guys are, you know, the experts and I feel like you have so many conversations where they just didn't know. They just didn't know. then you talk to them and now they do and they're gonna try. Yeah, they just didn't know. Not too long ago, I dealt with an older woman and her grandson. They had a little tiny dog. uh It got pregnant. Unfortunately, they didn't know uh how risky this pregnancy was because it was a tiny little chihuahua. I think he was like eight or she was like eight years old. You know, they come to us and they were asking for help because they didn't know what to do. The Chihuahua seemed to be in pain. And so, you know, my first question is, well, are you sure it's pregnant? Do you know it's spayed? And she says, it's not spayed. And so, you know, I took her in. I was able to connect her with some low cost emergency services. So we were able to like help her pet. Two days down the line, she comes, you know, and thanks me. She gave me a kiss on the cheek. You know, she was really grateful. And because, you know, were able to help connect her with those low cost services. She felt like she didn't have money to get the preventative spay. And this was definitely a teaching moment for her and her grandson. And I remember telling the grandson, you're going to grow up and get another dog one day. I know you will. I think he was on like 15, 16, make sure it's spayed because you don't want this to happen again. He's like, yes, of course. You know, because unfortunately, sometimes we learn the hard way, like you said. And so I feel like if it wasn't for our department. Who knows where she would have went or what would have happened to the dog. But luckily, luckily the dog's doing good and she's happy. And I think she has another dog at home that she's gonna consider reaching back out to us to get like a low cost service. Because yeah, she's don't want that happening again. I would not want that for her. you have any? For me, I think the one that I can, I guess just like off the top of my head think about was. So it was a surrender request for two dogs. This person was gonna be moving overseas. They got military orders. One thing that if I could emphasize to anybody in this podcast is that surrender takes time. It takes a lot of time. We do try our best to really outsource these guys so that we can have placement for them either when they arrive or before they're ever having to come in. But this person was reaching out like. well in advance, so I definitely appreciate that. She reached out, I wanna say maybe like six months in advance. ah And so she was basically reaching out because she had seen some of our posts on social media and she was asking if we can help her with promoting her dogs. So I explained to her our owner surrender process, she did all the things, she did profiles for each of her pets. ah And then we spoke with our social media team, we got some posts together, we were really trying to promote them too. um And then you know we did end up having to make an appointment for them to be surrendered But at the end of it she didn't end up having to bring them in because both of them were able to get re-homed So that's definitely a win in our eyes Because those two dogs didn't have to come in here. um They were a little bit older I think they were like seven and ten maybe ish So I think that it would have been a little bit harder to even try to find adopters for them because they're older and that's that's something to that a lot of times doesn't really get considered when they're coming in or when they're requesting to surrender because like I said earlier, like usually puppies and kittens, they're the ones that can kind of go faster and it can be hard to find somebody that's interested in taking an older pet. So I was super happy that that lady was able to be very proactive in trying to get everything squared away way before they were having to leave, um but also that we were able to avoid them having to come in here. Definitely a win. And I guess on that note, what is the one thing that you would like listeners to take away from this episode? To be prepared. Always be prepared. You never think it's gonna happen. Plan ahead. um Do all the preventative things. Because it is expensive to have a pet. It is. But it's more expensive to have an unaltered pet, an unvaccinated pet, because they get sick and they have babies. you're in a way investing right in your pet to have like a healthy life and it not only benefits the pet but it benefits you in the long run because you won't have to be dealing with emergencies later. I mean you might right anything can happen but at least you're a little bit more prepared. You're prepared for the future. Think about your pet's future. If you're gonna get an animal consider adopting especially like most adoptions at most rescues and shelters are all usually fixed. They all, all their preventative stuff, but if you're not, you're gonna get your pet elsewhere, take the responsibility to prepare. Yeah, your pet. I think um just trying to be accountable and responsible for your pets that you have um at home or if you are interested in getting a pet, um come visit us. That way you can help us with getting some of these guys out here, but that way also you just have everything that... you would need to know about them, um everything medically it is that they're gonna need, uh but also so that way we can just be able to kind of keep the doors of communication open so that way, just by the word of mouth, you can explain to friends, family, your experiences here. I really hope that our efforts are able to be seen as far as what we're trying to do to work towards this overpopulation problem. A lot of times when people are, Inquiring to surrender or to bring in an animal and we don't have space a lot of times we get backlash because we don't have the space but you know, we're trying to prevent Them coming into some inhumane conditions. We want them to be able to live here comfortably as comfortably as they can because obviously either way it's still going to be stressful um but just trying to keep in mind that there are a lot of pets here that are waiting for the same opportunity and Like I said earlier, like surrendering does take time, but because we're trying our best to avoid them having to come in here at all. If there's any way that we can be able to support that, let us know, come see us. um We'll try to do the best that we can. But I definitely think trying to be accountable on everything so that you know that they have everything that they're legally needing to have. So that way in the event an emergency happens or something, you know that they're taken care of. You have a little bit more peace of mind on your own conscience. um But also so that way if should they ever get out or something you also know like okay They have this like if they turn up they're gonna call me um Making sure all your information is updated. So a lot of different little things um But I hope that our shelter is able to get visited more and get more um Awareness about what we're trying to do in our efforts in making it better for all of our Yeah, I think the main thing is just always including your pet in the big picture future. um You never know what's going to happen. So it's good to have that backup plan, especially if you're in the military, understanding that, like you mentioned, it's going to take a while for a surrender and for us to find placement. So just making sure that they um have somewhere to go or an option, oh multiple options even, because it's better to have to be over prepared than under prepared. um Same thing with getting older. You gotta think about your pets. our relatives. Look out for your relatives. Ask your grandma how she's doing. with all her With older community members that are having pets and now they're either hospitalized or having to go into a home like the one that you helped earlier. And then those situations. What do they do? just, yeah, we just want them to be able to also have somebody that can at least help them in this process. Yeah. Yeah. They're in order for us to be able to help their pet. We want to try to promote them and stuff. So sometimes when they're not able to make the profiles, they're not able to send us photos or they don't have transportation to bring them down easily. Um, that's where it can be hard. So they definitely need to have friends or family that can help them in that situation. So that way we can do our job to try to help them out too. Right. Yeah, that's a big thing I see is like the elderly and they have a lot of young pets, you know, that it's just, it's just hard. It's hard because like Kristen said, they don't get, all the, they don't get to utilize all the resources cause they don't have the help by like, you know, the younger generation to kind of help them use all our tools. Everything's online now. And, know, so, um, that is, that is hard, but yeah, if anybody were to take anything away from this podcast, I hope it's to be prepared, do your research. Um, I mean, we've been in Alma welfare for far, what? Seven years, think you for like longer cause you were at a community study and we still have a lot to learn, know, and there's always something never something to learn. There's always new information. And so like, just keep eyes and ears open. Always listen to advice. We're not judging you. We just want to look out for the best of your pet and that's it. So just think about your pet's future. are lifelong commitments. 15 plus years, most of the time. And sometimes they get sick and sometimes they, especially like different breeds. feel like a lot of people, get, um, you know, Fancy breeds cause it's cute, but then they don't realize like how crazy that breed might be. Right. I think that kind of goes into like the, uh, do your research, your research. You considering adopting, or if you have a pet that you just recently got, um, that you're looking into what to expect with age, the breed. Exactly. If you're not going to get them fixed, what are you looking to expect because they're not fixed. Right. things like that. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of things to consider. I mean, I feel like now us working in animal welfare, I don't know about you guys, but I would never get a puppy. Never, never get a puppy. Never get those. No, no, you're crazy. I don't have money for that. Oh, yeah. Oh, no. Yeah. Then vet bills are actually for me. Oh, yeah. Kittens. And where can listeners learn to? Where can listeners reach out to you all to learn you know about these services a little bit more about them or you know to reach out for help our website has like Everything our website is so good. Our website is so good oh Yeah, no, it's so good Social media we have like our our outreach Instagram now social media but I think at least for me I I'll be checking my email. So the pet helpline email pet helpline at El Paso, I think that's like probably a good way to just do a quick little reach out and probably just get a response pretty quickly. Yeah, I think the same thing. The website is going to be the best way to get a lot of information uh about like the pantry, about, um you know, the surrender process, your research about behavior resources. That's my favorite tidbit of the website right now, just because it's got. two different sections for cat behavior and dog behavior resources. So it's just like common issues that any pet owner may have that they need assistance with that they can go in and they can look if it's for a fearful dog, it's for food guarding, for cats, it's for scratching, things like that. So there's a lot of really good information on there. But also like our pet helpline, if you do happen to have any questions or concerns, you can reach out to us through there. We check it every day. Or you can actually come into the shelter. Yeah, and come in and we can talk to you. have different staff members that have different stories, different advices. Yeah. We're here. Always. Any final thoughts or messages for our audience today? I think you guys pretty much summed everything up. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, come visit your shelter. Come visit your local shelter. come see all the hard work we're doing to. to get our pets taken care of both in the shelter and in our homes. Yeah. Don't shop. Definitely. Stay your pets. Don't support bad good breeding. All that fun stuff. Another big one. Yeah. And I guess my final thought is, I mean, I really do want to um show you guys how appreciative I am of both of you guys for coming, coming, you know, every day and being so flexible because every case is different, you guys never know what you're gonna get. And you work so hard. And I hear you guys on the phone or in person all the time, know, having these conversations and it definitely isn't an easy part of animal welfare, know, dealing with surrenders. You know, there's a lot of positive that come with community and pet support, you know, getting people into the pet pantry and you know, we do definitely see a lot of appreciation, but I think a lot of times, your hardware goes unnoticed by some community members, but I would really like to thank you guys for everything that you guys do because you truly are really, I would say perfect at this role. You guys are the experts. You guys are always, you guys are always having those conversations and I do really know that you guys are making a difference in El Paso. And you guys are truly saving lives. You honestly are. I hear you guys all the time on the phone and person talking to people and really changing their mindset. um And I think that's why this program was put under education because you guys are little educators yourself. You don't maybe have that title education coordinator. Maybe you're not out there in the community teaching the kiddos or teaching adults the way that I am, but you are definitely educating. and you're so knowledgeable in everything that you guys talk about. And so I just really want to say thank you guys for putting in the work and for coming every day and doing everything. I'm trying to get emotional. Cry, cry. No, just kidding. We cry too much in this department. But I just really do want to say thank you guys because it is really a hard part of animal welfare. um And it can be very rewarding, but um I know that. even from personal experience being in CAPS, you know, it's hard. It is hard. you know, sometimes we see the worst in people and sometimes we see the best and, you know, it really is a hard part of animal welfare. So I thank you guys both for approaching everything with such empathy and compassion because I see you guys really listen to people. And I think that that takes a special person. So you guys are really, you know, great people for listening to. problems and trying to come up with a solution and you know addressing you know people that maybe are a little bit heated because you know it's hard to have to make that decision sometimes. definitely and I think you guys handle it with such grace so I just really do want to say thank you guys for all the hard work that you put in and for our first episode that we had we kind of said the quote when you know better you do better And I really love that quote and that's kind of what I went, you know, by that whole year. But this year I found a new little quote, you know, oh there is no ah animal welfare without human welfare. And I really think that this program, you know, proves that ah because we all started working here because we love animals, at least as far as I know, right? We all love animals. We want to help them. We're here to save, you know, as many lives as we can. but with animals come people. at the end of the day, we're also here to help people. So um I think that's kind of how I would like to sum up this episode is um to be kind to people. You never know what someone is going through. um And we just always want to be as empathetic as possible to one another and share these resources that you're learning today from this episode. And just keep in mind that your pets are family and um just always make sure that we're checking on our friends and family too because we never know what they're going through. And sometimes it's hard to ask for help and especially hard for these people to ask strangers for help. So we're here to support the community and we just really want to um have that known. With that being said, we have made it to the end of our episode. um We just want to thank the community for listening. Don't forget to subscribe, share, comment. If you guys have any uh suggestions for topics, of course, you can always email us at epasoutreach at El Paso, Texas dot gov. And don't forget to follow us on all of your podcasting apps. And thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for having us. Bye.
