SAN ANTONIO — Stray animals roaming the streets of San Antonio has been an ongoing issue for years. Now two women are sounding the alarm in one west-side neighborhood.
The women say stray animals have created a crisis. They are doing what they can to help, but say more resources are needed.
"San Antonio is in crisis," said Monique Wellesley, with Angels Among Us.
Two months ago, Monique Wellesley and Rachel Santiago came to a Westside neighborhood off San Luis Street, near W Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard to rescue a pregnant dog, then they drove around the neighborhood.
"We saw, 'Oh my gosh, there's dogs everywhere. Dogs on top of dogs and cats are everywhere, kittens and puppies," said Wellesley.
They say what they see is distressing, so they keep coming back to help.
"We feed, we water, we give flea pills. Most of these babies are infested with fleas and ticks, and we talk to the homeowners," said Wellesley.
Multiple times a week, they visit the neighborhood, trying to rescue as many animals as they can.
"We left here with about 15 to 20 cats in one day. All these dogs are literally dying in the streets," said Santiago.
Wellesley and Santiago are calling for change. They say they've tried speaking with city leaders including District 5 Councilwoman, Terri Castillo.
"We get a whole three minutes to talk to them, and they don't seem interested," said Wellesley.
KENS 5 reached out to Councilwoman Castillo's office for comment, but we have not heard back.
"We need spay and neuter mobile vans, kind of like a Mash unit on the street to spay and neuter these animals on the spot, that's the only thing that's going to stop this crisis," said Wellesley.
To help their efforts they have started a GoFundMe.
Wellesley and Santiago are working to create a nonprofit for their rescue called Angels Among Us.
"We are the animals angels, and they are definitely the angels of the community," said Wellesley.
For now, the women will continue working on their mission, helping one stray animal at a time, and they are also working to help educate the community.
"People over here, they don't know how to use their resources or they don't want to, so someone has to step in and take charge of this situation," said Wellesley.
If you would like to help Wellesley and Santiago, you can donate to their GoFundMe by clicking here.