San Antonio Animal Services is killing 30 dogs a day: some of them without names or information given. Lots can be done about this issue if San Antonio’s Mayor and Animal Services choose to make change. These are just a few suggestions.

Give time and personnel to promoting the dogs. Most dogs only have two or three days in San Antonio Animal Services before they are killed.  Give more time and personnel to promotion. Almost all promotion of dogs is done by volunteers.

Make puppy mills illegal. Stop unhealthy, unsocialized purebred (and often inbred) pups from being sold in pet shops. Regulate breeding if necessary. Feature rescues in pet shops. 

Personally, I’d be fine with cities and counties making spay/neuter mandatory for ALL mixed breed animals, and issuing strictly enforced breeding licenses for purebreds.

Mandatory microchipping. Thousands and thousands of strays are killed every year due to inability to find owners, and lack of space. NOT, you note, “euthanized.” You do not “euthanize” a healthy animal. You simply kill it. Along with this, make abandoning an animal illegal EVERYWHERE, ENFORCE that law, and have real, meaningful punishments for breaking it.

More Barn Cat/Working Cat programs where ferals and semi-ferals are adopted out to owners of farms and warehouses. EDUCATE the new guardians that these cats will actually hunt MORE if fed regularly. It seems counter-intuitive, but it is true.

More programs that pair seniors with senior animals.

More permanent foster programs, where a hard-to-place animal (due to age or illness) is put into a “forever” home, the fosterers provide basic needs, but the shelter still handles medical needs. There are a LOT of folks out there who are more than capable of caring for a special needs animal physically, but not financially. Thanks to Judy Johnson on Quora for most of this.