The Town of Anthony has added a new department to its line of services. The Animal Welfare Services, under the Police Department’s Public Safety, is the latest addition. Jesus Quintero is the first ever Animal Welfare Officer and he took off running. Throughout the years the town has been riddled with stray dogs and cats. El Paso County’s EP Animal Services would sporadically answer calls from the town’s residents. The town’s police officers would respond to immediate problems like dog bites, and dangerous and injured animals
Now, the town’s Animal Welfare Officer Jesus Quintero answers all the calls in his Animal Control Truck.
He works M-F 8:00am- 4:00pm and every other Saturday. He patrols the streets of Anthony and also answers calls from the Village of Vinton. The Town of Anthony has a contract with the Village of Vinton for Animal Services. Stray dogs are picked up and housed in a kennel at the town hall site. The town owns a microchip reader and has access to the registry. If the dogs don’t have a microchip they are kept for only 3 days. Dogs with microchips are kept for 7 days while he attempts to notify their owners. Officer Quintero works to reunite the dogs with their owners, re-home them or foster them, before turning them over to the EP Humane Society, Animal Rescue League, and the Santa Teresa Rescue. If these organizations are not able to care for them, the Town of Anthony pays the El Paso Animal Services in NE El Paso to take them.
He assisted the Zoonosis Control Branch of the TX Department of State Health Services in fighting a new strain of rabies coming out of Arizona. They dropped rabies vaccine bait to vaccinate wildlife from this rabies strain. He is currently working to control the gofer population at the town’s baseball field. He is also concerned about the increase in feral cat population in the town and would like to see greater involvement by the community. He stated residents may check out traps for a five day duration. He will pick up the trapped cats to be neutered or spayed and returned to the pickup site.
Officer Quintero is planning low cost vaccines, a school educational program, more frequent adoption fairs, and greater collaboration with the community. His first community project is a Microchip Fair to be held March 15 at Anthony’s Town Hall from 8:30-12:00 noon. The cost is $15 per microchip plus $10 registration fee. Dog and cat owners should consider the benefits of micro chipping which permanent identification lost pet recovery and universal scanning. This is a very effective way to find your pet if it gets lost. Call (915)886-3944 for additional information.
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