El Paso Matters23%
Higher animal services costs strain El Paso’s regional shelter agreements as intakes increase 41%
By Elida S. Perez72%
7/19/2026, 1:00:00 PM
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The higher cost to shelter lost and stray animals is prompting the county government and some municipalities to withhold payments to the city of El Paso while they dispute monthly invoices and reconsider long-standing service agreements.
The city has interlocal agreements for animal services with seven area local governments, including the county, Horizon City, San Elizario, Socorro and Fort Bliss.
Under the agreement, the city accepts animals from other jurisdictions and shelters them, treats them for illness or injury and helps to return pets to their owners, get them fostered or adopted, or transferred to other rescues.
El Paso County and Horizon City stopped making payments more than a year ago, while San Elizario paused payments two months ago – all citing the need to audit the invoices to make sure they are being charged properly.
An increase to the cost for services kicked in September 2024, with city officials contending the charges reflect the true cost of housing animals and the other governments saying the costs are unsustainable.
The number of animals taken in by El Paso Animal Services from other jurisdictions increased 37% between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, and is on pace to grow by another 15.6% this year, Animal Services data shows.
Inside the El Paso city limits, the number of animals brought in by Animals Services jumped by 62% between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, and is on pace to grow by another 1% this year.
The explosion in the number of animals taken in by El Paso Animal Services between fiscal years 2023 and 2025 came at a time when the human population in El Paso was largely unchanged, rising just over 1% outside the El Paso city limits and 0.1% inside the city.
El Paso Animal Services took in more than 34 animals for every 1,000 humans in the city in 2025, up from 21 animals per 1,000 residents two years earlier.
Outside the city limits, the ratio jumped from less than 14 animals for every 1,000 humans to more than 18 in two years.
Interim Animal Services director Michael Wachsmann said he believes the rising cost of living is making it increasingly difficult for many residents to care for their pets and is contributing to the growing number of animals at the shelter.
He also points to rising costs of pet care.
“Veterinary expenses, including preventive care as well as spay and neuter procedures, have risen substantially,” he said.
The price of sheltering
Under a previous agreement, the city of El Paso charged other municipalities a one-time $60 impound fee per animal and $18 a day for up to six days.
The current agreement stipulates a $110 intake fee, plus a $27 daily fee per animal for as long as it remains in the shelter.
Wachsmann said animals often stay at the shelter from 30 to 45 days.
“The updated interlocal agreements were designed to better align reimbursement with the actual cost of caring for animals.
Like animal shelters nationwide, Animal Services has experienced increasing costs associated with veterinary care, medical treatment, shelter operations, and longer lengths of stay,” Wachsmann told El Paso Matters via email.
Total costs vary depending on the number of animals accepted by the shelter, their medical condition, any treatment required and their length of stay.
“The updated agreements recognize the full cost of providing care throughout an animal’s stay and ensure participating jurisdictions share in those costs for animals originating from their communities,” he said.
The city was owed about $1.8 million from three local governments alone as of July: $1.5 million from the county; about $233,000 from Horizon; and about $52,000 from San Elizario, according to city officials.
The county and Horizon had not made payments in more than a year as they audited the invoices, though the county paid the city $992,000 this mo-nth.
County officials say they’re auditing the remainder of their invoices.
San Elizario, which has not made a payment in about two months, is also reviewing its invoices.
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The city’s Animal Services is the only large municipal shelter in the Borderland that can take in stray animals.
The department, which has an annual budget of $16 million, has three adoption centers: the main campus at 5001 Fred Wilson Ave., on the Westside at 5625 Confetti Drive, and a Mission Valley adoption center at 9068 Socorro Road.
The Fred Wilson site can house about 370 dogs and 225 cats.
Visitors look at pets available for adoption at the city of El Paso Animal Services shelter, July 17, 2026.
(Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
But Animal Services utilizes additional temporary housing, medical areas and foster homes to care for animals during periods of high intake, Wachsmann said.
“By placing animals in foster homes, Animal Services is able to preserve valuable kennel space for incoming animals while providing individualized care for vulnerable animals,” he said.
The city of El Paso Animal Services main campus at 5001 Fred Wilson Ave. can house about 370 dogs and 225 cats.
The number of in-takes at the animal shelter continues to grow.
(Corrie Boudreaux / El Paso Matters)
As of July 14, Animal Services was caring for about 980 animals – about 550 dogs and the remainder cats.
Wachsmann said during the summer months, it is common for the department to care for about 1,000 animals at any given time.
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Since fiscal year 2024, the city has placed about 7,200 animals in foster homes, and another 5,500 were fostered from September through June this fiscal year.
In fiscal year 2024, about 14% of animals were euthanized, according to the department’s annual report.
Municipal frustrations
Although the county and other municipalities were aware of the pricing changes when they entered into the city’s updated agreements, officials with the county, Horizon and San Elizario said they are concerned some of the animals they are being invoiced for are not from their jurisdictions.
“There’s a big portion of that ($1.5 million) bill that we’re having to do a pretty intensive audit on, because we think there’s errors, so we’re trying to validate, I should say, before we pay the remainder,” El Paso County Administrator Betsy Keller said.
Joel Bishop, deputy county administrator, said about $500,000 remains in unpaid invoices to the city after its recent payment.
But he said he didn’t want to comment on its audit until the city reviews its findings.
“There were thousands of records reviewed with some pretty complex interpretations from the contract and city/county borders, so it needs to be reviewed by both sides,” he said in emailed responses to El Paso Matters.
“We have paid the city for everything we could clearly verify.
Both city and county staff are committed to working together to verify and clarify what we found,” he added.
El Paso County Animal Welfare Officer E.
Aguilar at a 2024 awareness event.
The county is building a $32.7 million animal shelter, approved by voters as part of a 2024 bond, set to open in late 2029.
(Courtesy County of El Paso)
Keller said the county has been working with the city for over a year to come to a resolution.
“It wouldn’t benefit anybody for this to not work, because if people pick up an animal in the county and take it to the city shelter, and then the city doesn’t accept it, that’s not a good situation for the animals either,” Keller said.
The county is in the design phase of a $32.7 million animal shelter approved by voters in 2024.
But the facility may not open until late 2029, Keller said.
The shelter will be designed to accommodate about 290 dogs and 100 cats, along with limited space for other types of animals.
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The county now has interlocal agreements with outlying municipalities for animal control services such as capturing strays, but would have to evaluate whether it would have enough shelter capacity to take in animals from outside its jurisdiction.
“Animals don’t know the difference between cities or counties, nor do they pay attention to boundary lines, and the goal of the shelter is to take care of animals no matter where they come from,” city Rep.
Chris Canales, who serves as the chair for the city’s Animal Services Advisory Committee, said in an emailed response to El Paso Matters.
“Of course, there’s a cost to doing so, and that’s why we have these interlocal agreements with our neighboring municipalities to make sure that costs are appropriately covered,” he said.
A puppy looks out a kennel at the city of El Paso’s Animal Services shelter on Fred Wilson Avenue.
Animals often stay at the shelter from 30 to 45 days.
(Corrie Boudreaux)
Horizon City Mayor Andres Renteria said it’s not always clear who lives within the city’s boundaries.
The 8.7-square-mile township sits adjacent to unincorporated areas of the county that many mistakenly consider part of Horizon.
Renteria said some driver licenses list addresses as being in Horizon City even though they are not within the municipal boundaries.
Horizon began looking more closely at animal services invoices when they started to range from $22,000 to $27,000 per month – up from about $8,000, he said.
“That’s been the big confusion, and really when we started receiving these really high invoices, then we started to understand, ‘Oh, OK, they’re probably applying animals that are picked up in the county,’” Renteria said.
Renteria said he understands costs have gone up, but wants to ensure Horizon is not paying more than necessary.
“We’re 27,000 people in Horizon City, and for us to get an invoice monthly in, you know, in the $20,000 range, it seemed very excessive to us, and that’s why we decided to run the audits,” he said.
The city has been communicating with Horizon and is working with them on a resolution, officials said.
San Elizario Mayor Miguel Chacon said the invoices, also ranging above $20,000 per month, are not financially sustainable for the city’s $2 million annual budget.
He said that about 10% of the town’s budget the past two years was going to pay the city of El Paso for animal services.
He also questions whether each animal invoiced is from within their city limits.
“I started digging and digging, and it’s when I started to notice the way … how they account for those amounts to go up every month, I’m not in agreement because most of the dogs are just picked up here – they’re picked up here, but they’re not necessarily owned by constituents of my city,” Chacon said.
He said San Elizario doesn’t have an auditor to conduct a full audit on the contract and is considering discussing at a future town council meeting whether to terminate the agreement.
Chacon said that while San Elizario may have to continue working with the city of El Paso, he’d like to hire an animal control officer to better track animals going to the El Paso shelter.
He added that with 70 acres of land that can be developed in San Elizario, his city might also consider building a shelter.
“I want them (the San Elizario oCity Council) to realize the urgency of this problem because we don’t have the money any more.
If we continue spending this much money on them (the El Paso Animal Services), we’re gonna have to start laying off people,” Chacon said.
Wachsmann, of the city of El Paso, said Animal Services would no longer accept new animals from any jurisdiction that opted to end its agreement with the city.
The city would, however, continue to care for animals already under its system, he said.
“The municipality would be responsible for providing animal services for animals originating within its jurisdiction,” he said.
Among other things, the Animal Protection Field Operations program of the city’s Animal Services is charged with investigating animal bites and safety concerns.
(Courtesy Animal Services)
Texas municipalities are not required by state law to operate an animal shelter or employ animal control officers.
Those that have an animal control authority, however, must enforce state laws related to dangerous dogs, rabies control and quarantine, dog bite investigations and animal cruelty and public health provisions.
Wachsmann said the city works with the partners to resolve concerns about whether they were invoiced properly.
The goal is to provide public safety to the region when it comes to animal welfare, he said.
“Sometimes there might be a disagreement in which the animal is found or located, and so that’s why we kind of give them that opportunity to kind of see the animals that we’re invoicing them for, and if there is any discrepancies, then they can address that with our team, and then we can again collaborate with that partnership to resolve that issue,” Wachsmann said.
The city also has agreements with the towns of Anthony and Clint, and the Village of Vinton.
It also works with the animal control agencies in Socorro, Anthony, the county and the Tigua Animal Control for coordinated animal intake by law enforcement.
From left, Ashley Thurmond, Amber Thurmond and Carl Thurmond choose a German Shepherd mix puppy at the city of El Paso Animal Services, July 17, 2026.
(Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Victor Reza, the city of Socorro spokesman, said the municipality has not seen significant changes in animal services costs under the updated agreement.
Socorro doesn’t have an animal shelter, but its animal control officers capture stray or aggressive animals, investigate reports of animal cruelty and neglect, and respond to emergency rescue or bite calls.
“With respect to the rising costs of these services, the Socorro Police Department, which oversees animal control (that takes animals to the city shelter), carefully reviews every invoice for accuracy and accountability,” Reta said.
The Anthony Police Department’s animal control officer also monitors the invoices received by the city to ensure correct accounting.
“When we receive the bill, the city secretary sends it out to the animal welfare officer, so he can do an audit, because what we found is that our bills were coming out super, super high,” Chief Carlos Enriquez said.
“So in order for us to be fiscally responsible, we had to make sure that these were actually animals that were from our city and we weren’t getting charges for anybody else.”
Wachsmann said the long-term solution is not a single action, but a combination of regional collaboration, expanded local capacity, increased spay and neuter efforts, responsible pet ownership, and continued investment by all jurisdictions in animal welfare services.
“Animal welfare is a regional challenge that requires regional solutions.
Shelters across the country continue to face increasing intake, longer lengths of stay, rising veterinary and operational costs, and limited capacity,” Wachsmann said.
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