A pair of dogs attempt to cross the intersection of Eighth Street and National Avenue recently.
If you live in Las Vegas, you know about the dogs.
You know there are large dog packs running on the streets. Maybe your grandma doesn’t want to walk down by the river because she doesn’t feel safe. Some are feral, while others are pets, and they run all over the place.
Everyone has an opinion about what to do, but things don’t seem to change.
This series will look at animal control issues in Las Vegas, from a solution-oriented point of view, exploring not just the problem, but what we might be able to do about it.
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Since mid-September, The Optic has been exploring the situation with animals in Las Vegas from various angles. This week, the public weighs in on what they think can be done.
Sara Jo Mathews describes herself as a very active volunteer with animal issues around town. Asked about solutions, she said the work of volunteers and nonprofits is critical.
Mathews said she actively supports the efforts of the Animal Welfare Coalition as well as the Animal Welfare Advocates of Northern New Mexico in their efforts.
Mathews said volunteers in Las Vegas work to take over animal welfare cases the city and county are too overwhelmed to deal with.
“We’ve really tried to pick up as much slack as we could from the city (and) the county,” Mathews said. “Without the efforts of all these nonprofits … we would be in a much worse situation than we’re in,” Mathews said.
“Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend that things could be worse,” Mathews went on to state. “But in all reality, without all these groups of volunteers and nonprofits it would be unimaginable.”
Mathews said she’s very aware of what she described as the animal welfare crisis in Las Vegas, especially as it pertains to the dog packs that roam the city.
“The animal welfare situation has gotten so bad, it’s become a public safety issue,” Mathews said. “I’m an animal lover through and through, but … it’s just a matter of time till someone elderly or a child is killed by those dogs.”
Mathews said the dire forecast concerning the dog packs “is preventable.”
“It’s going to take the city, the county and our judicial system to step up and start following through with enforcement,” she said.
Mathews said issues arise due to a local judicial system that does not prosecute animal cruelty and people not readily pressing charges.
“Without actual law enforcement and actual consequences … it feels like we’re trying to empty the ocean a bucket at a time,” Matthews said.
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Longtime Las Vegas resident Vick Evans echoed Mathews’ sentiment about the dangers of the dog packs.
Aggressive behavior of the dog packs hits close to Evans – she said her brother’s cat was recently killed by such dogs.
“That was tragic,” Evans said on Tuesday. “The problem with packs is that they kill people’s pets.”
Evans said she does not believe the dogs that roam Las Vegas in packs are “bad.” However, she said, “when they start packing they get that pack mentality. … We really worry about a child getting mauled.”
Evans said she understands that the city is trying to help with the dog pack situation, but also acknowledged that the matter is urgent. Possible solutions to Las Vegas’ dog packs, she said, include enforcing animal ordinance laws.
“If people don’t get in trouble for having their dogs loose, they’re not going to worry about it,” Evans said.
She also said the work of volunteers is part of the solution to Las Vegas’ animal welfare situation.
“As a community, I think we need to be working together,” Evans said. “If the city is understaffed for these types of things, then we should see what we can do to help solve these problems.”
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Dominique Garcia, who owns and operates local dog grooming business Stinky Dog’s Salon, echoed Evans’ call for volunteers to step up and help with the community’s animal welfare.
Garcia is herself active with the AWC – she is on its board. She briefly worked at the animal shelter, she said, when she first relocated to Las Vegas almost seven years ago.
“I play a small part in a very big picture with lots of dedicated individuals,” Garcia added.
Garcia said her volunteerism stems from an initial feeling of being “powerless.”
“I felt powerless when I saw our local animal situation, as I’m sure many people do, so I got involved with volunteering,” she said.
“We mustn’t forget that our community is strong,” Garcia went on to state. “We might believe our elected leaders hold all the power, but we vote for them.”
Garcia suggested that those concerned for animal welfare in Las Vegas demand change by attending city council meetings and speaking up.
“If you still don’t see acceptable change then remember that when you vote,” she said. “Change is hard, but we can do hard things.”
Garcia said the AWC can be contacted at 505-426-6715. Also, she said, she can be reached at Stinky Dog’s Salon, 505-652-0422.
“I will do my best to point you in the right direction,” Garcia said.
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Cass Kear, an adjunct instructor in music and speech at New Mexico Highlands University, said she was chased by a dog pack recently. She was walking her service dog, Zuzu, near her home on Navajo Street at the time.
“It was very scary,” she said. “I had (Zuzu) pulling me the whole way.”
Kear said she feared that if she were to trip that either she or Zuzu could get hurt.
“But,” she said, “I really care more about (my) dog than I do about myself.”
Kear said she believes the animal situation in Las Vegas is getting worse due to “people not caring about their animals.”
“More than that, people are not spaying or neutering their dogs,” she said.
Aside from spaying and neutering pets, Kear advocated for people to be responsible pet owners and keeping their dogs under their control.
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Local Darion Williams also believes the lack of spaying and neutering is contributing to the dog pack situation. He said he wonders if people are trying to breed their dogs, and then “try to get rid of them anyway they can” when they cannot sell them.
“I’m feeling that might be the case here in Las Vegas,” he said.
He suspects many people abandon their dogs, he said, noting that his mother recently started caring for a pup that she witnessed being let out of a car near her house.
Williams said he has encountered large packs of dogs – comprising about 13 or 14 animals – on several occasions, especially around Mills Avenue and heading towards Montezuma, where he lives.
On Aug. 27, Williams videoed a large pack of dogs lounging near his place of employment on Mills Avenue. He posted the video on social media.
Williams said he encountered the pack a few more times.
“I’ve never seen such a big pack (of dogs),” Williams said. “These dogs were all just rolling together. It was crazy.”
Williams said some of the dogs had collars. He said there were puppies in the group as well.
“Some of the puppies, they were injured,” he said. “They were limping.”
Williams said he wanted to feed the dogs in the pack; however, when he’d get close they would cower away.
As for solutions to the dog pack situation, Williams advocated for adoption, and making adoptable dogs more visible to the public.
This means taking them out of the animal shelter, Williams said, which he said can be a “high stress” environment for dogs, and having adoption events in a park where people can interact with the dogs outdoors.
“I think if they brought (the dogs) out to the public, and had an adoption (event) out in the public, it would entice people more to want to adopt the dog,” he said.
Williams also suggested creating a Facebook page to help adoptable dogs become more visible; a tactic that could reach people who live outside of Las Vegas, he said.
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