CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A detailed assessment of the Corpus Christi Animal Care Services (CCACS) has exposed an array of operational deficiencies that go beyond administrative issues, revealing critical failures in animal care, medical treatment, basic shelter management, behavior assessment, and euthanasia decision-making processes.
As KRIS 6 News first reported, the city hired Citygate Associates, LLC, to conduct a comprehensive assessment. That assessment was originally set to be delivered to city leaders last November, but was delayed.
The completed report will be discussed during a City Council Workshop Thursday afternoon.
Here is a breakdown of the more significant findings from the report:
Cultural and Operational Challenges
"There is always a reason, and the reason is why we cannot do it," the report quotes a staff member, revealing a pervasive culture of apathy and resignation.
According to the report, "It has become evident to Citygate that CCACS has a negative workplace culture that permeates every aspect of the Department, both internally and externally. The poor culture is demonstrated through staff negativity and apathy, poor customer service, staff burnout and turnover, inadequate animal care, and lack of respect for leadership and management decisions."
Interviews with staff reveal concerns that many staff "fear that they 'have targets on their backs' and that on any given day they come into work, they could be fired."
"CCACS remains unconsciously stuck in the anachronistic model of 'dog catchers.' rounding up animals and providing short-term care at 'the pound' before euthanizing them," the report states.
The report also highlights poor communication and follow-through and notes that CCACS has been moved under different city departments over "recent years" and is now a standalone division that reports directly to the City Manager.
"While Citygate supports the decision to establish CCACS as an independent department the various reorganizations resulted in differing priorities and top down mandates that have left both staff and the shelter partners in confusion and they continue to cause issues with transparency, accountability, and trust," the report states.
"A recurring theme among most staff Citygate spoke with was the lack of respect for leadership and management since they did not have any in-depth animal welfare experience and knowledge. Citygate recommends that the City and new CCACS Director take this to heart as it will be impossible to build a strong and effective animal services department if the foundation is cracked from the beginning. Citygate recommends hiring a seasoned and experienced animal welfare professional with animal shelter experience in the role of Operations Director or Assistant Director," the report states.
As 6 Investigates has previously reported, Kathleen Chapa was appointed as the director of CCACS in May 2024. She previously served as the city's floodplain and coastal protection manager and had no animal care experience.
In March, Chapa resigned from this position and requested a voluntary demotion, she is continuing to serve as director until a replacement is named.
Intake Process Breakdown
The shelter's intake procedures revealed lapses in basic animal care. Investigators observed staff placing injured and sick animals on unsanitized floors, with one example of a dog suspected of having a broken leg left without veterinary examination for hours.
Vaccination and medical care were consistently inadequate. Numerous animals did not receive core vaccinations at intake, with some waiting weeks for basic medical attention. The assessment found that prompt veterinary care was the exception, not the rule.
As KRIS 6 News first reported, CCACS veterinarian Dr. Melissa Draper resigned in March.
The shelter's cleaning protocols were found to be inconsistent. Staff frequently failed to properly disinfect cages, vehicle compartments, and animal holding areas. Critically, contagious animals were often housed near non-contagious animals, dramatically increasing disease transmission risks.
Behavior Assessment Concerns
The assessment found significant issues with how CCACS evaluates animal behavior. Play groups are utilized solely as assessment tools rather than for routine enrichment, with most dogs receiving only a single play group opportunity during their entire shelter stay.
"Playgroups can provide valuable information, but they are not the only indicator of how to evaluate social behavior with other dogs," the report states. "Behavior history and objective observations are the greatest tools in understanding an individual animal."
The assessment revealed that CCACS makes critical euthanasia decisions based on a flawed "hard date" system, with leadership teams only cursorily discussing an animal's history without direct interaction. The report also documents the disturbing practice of routinely euthanizing animals with high Fear-Anxiety-Stress (FAS) scores without attempting any intervention measures.
Staff members regularly make life-or-death decisions based on minimal information. One alarming example highlighted that a dog returned for aggression toward a child had no documentation regarding the age of the child, circumstances of the incident, or what the adopter observed as "aggression." Despite this incomplete information, the dog was labeled a "public safety" risk and recommended for euthanasia.
Staff incorrectly told Citygate that neuter status had no impact on dog behavior, a statement the report notes is "not supported by veterinary medical science, behavior experts, or industry best practices."
FAS Score Misuse
The report documented widespread misuse of Fear-Anxiety-Stress (FAS) scoring across all staff levels. Rather than using these scores to identify animals needing intervention with behavior medications, enrichment, fostering, or kennel relocation, CCACS staff routinely use high FAS scores to justify euthanasia without attempting any intervention.
"Citygate cannot emphasize strongly enough that routinely euthanizing animals with a high FAS score without taking any measures to reduce or mitigate an animal's stress, anxiety, or fear is unacceptable by industry standards," the report states.
The issue is exacerbated by CCACS' problematic length-of-stay policy. According to the report, "Current Length of Stay SOP #111 states that animals are to be given a maximum length of stay of fourteen days and that animals staying beyond that must be approved by shelter leadership to stay longer or be euthanized." During the assessment, adoptable dogs were being euthanized for exceeding this arbitrary 14-day limit.
Lack of Enrichment
The assessment found a complete absence of structured enrichment programs at CCACS. According to the report, enrichment should be given the same significance as other components of animal care, such as nutrition and medical care.
"As reported to Citygate, the only time a dog is taken to a play yard or walked is after a dog is 'hard dated' when the Live Release Team takes it out once for a single playgroup assessment," the report reveals.
Dogs remain confined to kennels without walks, playgroups, human interaction, or other forms of enrichment. While some kennels had signs saying "Enrich Me!" with instructions for providing canned cheese on frisbees, staff were only observed using these items when explaining them to Citygate.
The assessment noted dozens of Kongs and enrichment treat boards available, but not in use. One particularly disturbing finding was that chain links on kennel doors, where cheese was sprayed for dogs to lick, were never disinfected after use.
The report revealed concerning contradictions regarding dog walking and enrichment. Some staff claimed they were responsible for these activities if time allowed, while others stated staff never walked dogs. Citygate received "very contradictory information" overall and "did not observe any enrichment nor dog walking" during their three-day onsite visit.
Cat Care Deficiencies
The report identified serious issues with cat assessment and care. Healthy, visibly social cats and kittens are placed directly in the adoption room, while unsocial, sick, or injured cats are housed in what staff call the "feral room."
When questioned directly, one CCACS staff member stated that a "feral cat is a mean cat, a cat that will bite you." The report notes this misunderstanding creates barriers to positive outcomes like adoption or rescue transfer.
Cats receive no scratching substrate despite this being a critical and normal behavior supporting their well-being. They have no opportunities for interactive play or exploration outside their cages. The assessment also found that cats were not provided with any socialization, and staff did not interact with, talk to, or touch cats outside of what was required for cleaning.
Euthanasia Decision Process
The assessment documented flaws in how euthanasia decisions are made. CCACS has a higher percentage of dogs euthanized for "public safety/aggression" than Citygate typically sees at other government shelters.
The shelter's policy includes using FAS scores over 3 as justification for euthanasia without intervention attempts. Current SOPs also enforce a 14-day maximum length of stay, with staff instructed to "euthanize for space" if the average length exceeds this threshold.
"There is no need to mention a length of stay time limit in the SOPs," the report emphasizes, "and all animals should be held as long as space is available."
The report also found that CCACS lacks a clear policy statement or procedure to guide the euthanasia process. When making weekly rounds to determine "hard date" dogs, leadership teams only superficially discussed dogs' histories without interacting with the animals. Citygate observed euthanasia decisions being made with very little information, case histories, or interaction with the animals themselves.
Comprehensive Recommendations
The assessment includes 170 detailed recommendations covering all aspects of shelter operations. Citygate's top priority recommendations include:
- Hire an Assistant Director of Operations with at least five years of animal welfare experience in an operational management role
- Conduct a review and revision of the departmental mission and goals with stakeholder input
- Establish performance measures for veterinary staff
- Review, revise, and update all SOPs to align with industry best practices
Other critical recommendations include:
- Overhaul of intake and medical procedures
- Comprehensive staff retraining
- Improved cleaning and disinfection protocols
- Development of meaningful behavior assessment processes
- Expansion of veterinary services
- Creation of clear, actionable standard operating procedures
- Ensuring behavior decisions reflect current scientific research
- Discontinuing the practice of using playgroups as the sole indicator of sociability
- Implementing intervention strategies for animals with high FAS scores rather than using these scores to justify euthanasia
- Developing species-specific enrichment programs requiring dogs to be walked or exercised a minimum of 30 minutes daily and a minimum of two hours outside of their cages per week for cats
- Discontinuing the use of "length of stay" as a reason for euthanasia
- Creating a behavior SOP with an objective assessment matrix
- Contracting with a certified Animal Behaviorist to rehabilitate dogs with behavior problems
- Writing a new euthanasia policy with clear decision-making criteria and processes
- Implementing a structured volunteer enrichment program
