AS 2011-02-22Animal Services Board meeting minutes
February 22, 2011
The Coppell Animal Services board met on February 22, 2011 at 5:30pm. The meeting was held at the City
Animal Shelter located at 821 S. Coppell Rd., Coppell, Texas. The following members were present: Linda
Pate- Ulmer and Garfield Reed D.V.M. City liaisons, shelter manager Robert Smith, Lt. Shawn Fullagar
and recording secretary Charlene Trego were also present.
Item 1: Call the meeting to order.
The meeting was called to order at 5:43pm after it was concluded that member Mike Dorn would likely not
be present.
Item 2: Elect new board president
Due to the absentee board member, leaving only two voting members, a new president was not elected at
this time.
Item 3: Discuss duties of an Animal Control Officer
Robert Smith explained the duties of the officers at the shelter to the board. His description is as follows:
The officers typically do the following in the shelter:
Maintain the overall cleanliness of the shelter
Intake stray and unwanted animals, including scanning for a microchip, inputting information into
our computer database, making kennel cards, assessing the general behavior of the animal and
attempting to locate any possible owners or leads in the case of a stray animal
Return stray animals to their owners
Perform animal adoptions including, maintaining working knowledge of general animal behavior
and the behavior and specifics of the animals at the shelter
Basic animal care including, caring for the animals physical and emotional needs in a humane
manner
Customer Service including, answering telephone calls, assisting customers who are looking for a
pet to adopt, etc.
Administrative duties such as petfinder, e-mails, records
The Officers typically do the following, the field:
Respond to calls and internet (C-2) requests for service
Conduct bite and cruelty investigations
After-hours emergency calls (including injured animals, bites, dangerous animals)
Court testimony (citations, investigations)
Special assignments both in and out of the shelter such as education programs for children,
schools and other public awareness
Robert also went on to explain that the officers are certified and receive additional continuing
education training throughout their course of employment. He also explained the quarantine
procedures for when we have a bite case, explaining that there is at least a ten day period for which we
are required to observe the animal that has bitten. He wished to emphasize the animal control officers
are more than just “dog catchers.”
Item 4: Open discussion for board members
Lt. Fullagar addressed an issue that had been brought up at previous meeting regarding the possibly of
increasing the size of the board to five members rather than three. He stated that such a decision could
eliminate the problem of not being able to vote in the absence of one member. Garfield Reed and
Robert Smith agreed that this would be a good idea and stated that it is hard to get anything
accomplished with board members missing. Robert Smith cited an example of a case where we almost
had someone appeal the decision to revoke their registration and explained how it would have been a
problem had we needed to vote on that and there was an absence.
Lt. Fullagar explained that contrary to past beliefs, the board is an Advisory board to the Chief of
Police, not the City Council and also acts as the Animal Services Appeals board. He explained how
past members wants changes that were beyond the control of the members and attendees of these
meetings. He also mentioned the importance of being familiar with the Texas Open Meetings Act and
potential violations. He gave a little background on why the past president had resigned (due to
tensions from past members) from the board and what direction we are now trying to go with the
group.
Linda Pate-Ulmer asked about the presence of coyotes in Coppell. Robert Smith stated that they are
still in the area. Reed Garfield agreed citing examples of people in his neighborhood who had a pet
snatched up by a coyote while it was running at large. Lt. Fullagar stated that he had also seen some
behind the car wash on Denton Tap recently. Robert Smith also mentioned the numerous deceased
animal complaints that we get that appear to be related to coyotes and bobcats. Linda inquired if they
are afraid of people. Robert and Lt. Fullagar informed her that they usually are and will typically run
away when confronted with a human.
The members verified the date for the next meeting as being April 5, 2011 at 5:30pm.
Item 5: Adjourn the meeting
This meeting was adjourned at 6:18pm.
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Charlene Trego – Recording Secretary
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Robert Smith- Animal Services Manager