CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi has plans for a full assessment of Corpus Christi Animal Care Services.
It is to determine how CCACS operates, which is now a stand-alone department. Officials said the assessment is expected to take six months and provides an outside perspective.
Joel Skidmore, CCACS program manager, said he is confident in the department. However, he said there is always areas that could use improvement.
"We're excited that they're going to be coming in and almost doing a top-to-bottom assessment of Animal Care Services," Skidmore said.
Skidmore said the assessment will look at how they do their field operations, live releases, run their clinic and more. He hopes it can modernize what they already do after they get feedback. He said the assessment can also give them insight into what could be overlooked at CCACS.
"They're going to look at every single division," Skidmore said. "They're going to look at our internal policies. They're going to look at what we do, where we can improve."
There are sometimes capacity concerns at CCACS throughout the year, which Skidmore said depends on the situation for different animals in their care. He said the assessment can help them make sure they are providing the proper care to them.
"Do we need to increase in capacity of the care? Do we need an increase in the staff to help take care of the animals? That's all contained within assessment," Skidmore said.
Euthanizing animals is also part of CCACS operations. Each animal is looked at individually by their leadership team and it is a decision they never take lightly. He said an outside perspective can confirm they are doing it properly when it is necessary.
"It's sensitive for the staff, it's sensitive for the community and looking and making sure that we're following best practices, which I'm confident that we are," Skidmore said.
There are multiple ways Skidmore said they can modernize after the assessment. Some examples are increased community engagement, being more proactive with public safety, and providing the best standard of care for animals housed there.
"It's going to help us improve what we are already doing successfully and just continue to have a positive impact for the community," Skidmore said.
The CCACS staff is filled with people focused on serving the community, Skidmore explained. One way they want to engage more with residents is hosting a Trunk or Treat event on October 28.