SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio is seeing more free-roaming dogs than ever before and shelters are full in and around Bexar County.
It's also becoming an issue outside the county. Penny LaFlam at the Bulverde Area Animal Humane Society told KENS 5 some animals are dying on the side of the road.
"It's becoming normal to see dead dogs on the side of the road and that's not normal," LaFlam said.
The two main issues according to animal advocates: Pets are getting out of people's yards, and people aren't spaying or neutering animals to keep them from reproducing.
Animal Care Services spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said most dogs roaming the city are actually not strays at all.
"There is a big misconception that the roaming animals in San Antonio are strays. They're not. They are owned animals that are allowed to roam," Norwood said. "If we could keep pets on their property as they are supposed to be we could probably lick a lot of the problems that we have in terms of bites and in terms of aggressive animals and disease spread."
When animals do get out, however, they often find a mate to reproduce with and that only leads to more problems. Animal Defense League Marketing Manager Nadia De La Garza said they sometimes see whole litters of unwanted puppies as a result.
"The individuals that have the female dog then don't know what to do with the puppies. They don't have the resources to get that pet spayed or neutered," De La Garza said. "Our goal is to provide the education and resources and to become a community and be here to help."
The good news, Norwood said, is the City of San Antonio budgets several hundred thousand dollars to support low-cost spay and neuter services.
While getting the procedure done at a vet clinic could cost several hundred dollars, depending on the pet, city partners can typically provide the operations for less than $100.
San Antonio residents can set up appointments for those low-cost operations with any of the five partners listed on this city website.
The site also has a link for local veterinarians on that site and Norwood strongly encourages people to connect with a regular veterinarian for other issues that come up.
San Antonio Animal Care Services partnered with the Animal Defense League Saturday to hold a free vaccination clinic for San Antonio dog owners. Residents can keep an eye out for future clinics on this website.
De La Garza said around 70 percent of the animals currently showing up at clinics are not spayed or neutered and both groups will continue educate residents on options for those procedures.