(Reprise) 3-15-2002
Tales Of The Mayor's Big Dogs
Garza Licensed Dogs Day After They
Escaped
RG Griffing, SAL Staff
(Editor's Note: This series of
stories and commentary first ran in the Lightning
on the Ides of March following his election. As
it was largely ignored by the rest of San
Antonio's media, we offer it here again, simply
in light of the Mayor's recent call for ethics
review at City Hall. It is archived in reverse
order.)
The Lightning has learned that Mayor
Garza's two Labrador retrievers, Cosmo and Astro,
who escaped from the Mayor's backyard February
26th, and who were recovered that night, were
licensed by Garza the following day.
The dogs were licensed at
Fredericksburg Rd. Animal Hospital on February
27th, tag numbers 9787 and 9788.
In a previous story (See Below)
questions arose over whether the dogs had been
licensed or not, since at the time of their
recovery they had no collars or tags.
When questioned by the Lightning,
spokesman Steve Schauer said that the Mayor had
assured him the dogs were licensed, but that the
Mayor couldn't remember the date when he last
bought tags for the animals. Schauer said the
dogs did not have on tags when they got out
because the Mayor had washed Cosmo and Astro and
had not put the collars back on them.
The Lightning revealed in an earlier
story that the City computer records showed no
data on the animals' licensure.
Dr. William Lammers, who heads up
the department that maintains animal licensing
records, estimates that several hundred San
Antonio citizens are cited each year for
non-licensed animals, with an average fine of
about $100 per citation. Lammers added that the
citation issue doesn't enter this case, since no
animal control or police authorities were present
when the dogs were at large.
City law requires that dogs be
tagged once a year, and that they wear collars
and tags at all times when outside.
When asked by the Lightning if the
dogs had been previously licensed, Dr. Lammers
said that information could only be acquired
through the Freedom of Information Act.
Shauers said pretty much the same
thing when queried about the case.
-Previous Story March 2, 2001-
Are Mayor Garza's Dogs Licensed?
Mayor Says 'Yes!'; No Record In City Database
RG Griffing, Commentary
Last month Mayor Garza became
frantic when he found his two beloved Labrador
retrievers, Cosmo and Astro, missing. The Mayor's
love for the animals borders on being legendary.
A police report indicated that the
dogs had gotten out through a gate in the Mayor's
backyard.
Television stations were immediately
notified. An alert went out. The dogs were found
shortly after that, in fine shape, and the story
ended happily for all.
Well, almost ended.
A few loose ends remain.
When the dogs escaped they were not
wearing collars or tags. This apparently led to
rumors that the Mayor's dogs are unlicensed.
Licensing -
All dogs, cats and domestic ferrets must be
licensed by sixteen (16) weeks of age and
annually thereafter with the City of San Antonio,
Animal Care Services Division. Proof of rabies
vaccination must be demonstrated when the license
is issued. The license expires on the date of the
annual rabies vaccination. Dogs must wear license
tags on their collar at all times when outside.
(From City
web page-Emphasis added-Click for more)
Any given number of rumors are
floating around any given City Hall at any given
time. Some turn out to be true...most don't.
But this one is puzzling since City
records keepers, at first, decided to stay mum
about whether or not the dogs are licensed.
City employee Tracy Rees, at first,
said it was a simple thing to find out if an
animal was licensed. All she needed to look that
up was the name, address, or phone number of the
owner. She could do it over the phone.
However, when she found out it was
for the Mayor's dogs, she said she would need a
request in person, in writing, to give out that
information.
We then asked Steve Schauer of the
Mayor's office. He said he was "pretty
sure" the dogs were licensed. He allowed
that he wasn't 100% certain and would check. He
later contacted the Mayor, who told Schauer the
dogs had definetly been licensed.
Schauer said the Mayor couldn't
remember exactly when.
Schauer said the reason the dogs
were not wearing collars and tags when they got
out was because the Mayor had washed them a few
days earlier, and simply hadn't put the collars
back on.
But here's the rub.
Dr. William Lammers, who heads up
the department that maintains animal licensing
records, told the Lightning, at first, that any
information concerning the dogs would have to
come through a freedom of information act
request.
However, when pressed, Dr. Lammer
did say that he had checked, and found no records
for either dog.
"There is a lag of as much as 6
weeks in updating our database," Lammers
explained. If the dog had been vaccinated and
licensed during that period, they might not show
up.
So, the mystery continues. One would
think that the Mayor might remember something
that happened in the last 45 days, but then again
he is a busy man, what with running the City and
all.
Truthfully, it would be a shock to
find that the Mayor had failed to follow City
law. He has been widely admired for crossing the
t's and dotting the i's.
But what makes this story all the
more perplexing, is the amount of time it takes
for a citizen, or a reporter, to get information
of any kind from the City. Information which
should be a matter of public record, and easily
accessed.
-Developing-
