Finding homes for shelter dogs and other animals is not just about reducing numbers; it is about providing loving, safe environments to provide them a second chance.

TJ is an 11-month-old Boxer-Catahoula Leopard dog that “was dumped” by his owner at the Bedford Shelter, according to Animal Services Supervisor Jose Morales.  He described TJ as “skin and bones” when he arrived, but after putting some groceries back on him [has made him] a very happy guy for sure.”  Available for adoption, Morales described TJ as loving and enjoys “playing with his other dog friends.”  He noted that TJ is motivated by food and “thinks he is still a young pup and a lap dog.”

“In 2024,” Morales said, “we had approximately 1,100 animals impounded to the shelter” for an average stay of 31.5 days.

Blaze, another one of nine dogs and five cats at the shelter who are looking for a new home, is a three-year-old Staffordshire Terrier that came to Bedford this past year through Dallas, according Morales.  Although Blaze was microchipped, he said, they were unable to contact his owner and no one has come looking for him.

Although not all animals are adopted, Morales said, the Bedford shelter is “very fortunate to have made some great relationships with rescue partners.”  These partners are volunteer organizations that find foster homes for the animals until they can be adopted, he explained.  Sometimes, Morales added, the animals can end up staying with the rescue organization for “prolonged periods” until a home can be found.  In other cases, they may send the animals “up north where the “stray epidemic” is not as bad as it is in Texas,” he further explained.

Morales has been with Bedford Animal Services for about a year and a half and supervises a staff of four.  They include Senior Animal Control Officer Alexandria Magee, two animal control officers, Amanda Wheeler and Leslie Hightower, as well as Animal Shelter Technician Akesa Afuhaamango.

Morales stated that “across the board, U.S. animal shelters are faced with the “same problem of more intakes coming in then outcomes.”  Fortunately, he explained, Bedford’s shelter has “moved to an appointment-based intake for owner surrenders that has significantly helped us with slowing down intakes.”  By setting appointments with an animal’s owner, as described by the National Animal Care and Control Association website, the shelter can determine if surrendering their animal in non-emergency situations “is the only viable option or the best option for that pet and caregiver.”

Local shelters and rescue organizations across the country, according to The Humane Society website, have been struggling the past couple of years to find homes and fosters for their animals.  “We can make space in shelters by adopting pets and doing our collective part to prevent pet surrenders by helping a neighbor or friend through hard times,” the website advised.

Morales described life for the animals at the Bedford shelter as “pretty nice.”  Each morning, they all get “a heavy clean,” he said, and they get to “exercise outside in the play yard.”  The staff, he said, “does a great job of giving great animal husbandry, attention to detail, compassion and care.”

According to the City’s website, Bedford’s Animal Services operates as a division of the Police Department for the “care and custody of all impounded animals.”  They also respond to service calls, are responsible for quarantining animals, investigating reports of animal cruelty and enforce animal ordinances.  Basically, Morales stated, Animal Services “proactively seeks loving homes for all adoptable animals.”