Best Friends Animal Society is working with more than 3,600 shelters and rescue groups nationwide to save the lives of homeless pets. Besides running many lifesaving programs and initiatives, we provide resources and training to compassionate leaders who want to create an even safer country for dogs and cats.

While we’ve made incredible progress over the years together, hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats are still killed in shelters every year simply because they don’t have safe places to call home — many of them right here in Texas. In fact, more pets are killed in Texas shelters than in any other state in the country. That’s why Texans are in search of leaders willing to take action to save the lives of homeless pets by providing resources and collaborative efforts.

The next elected mayor of Lubbock, Texas, has an excellent opportunity to continue to grow lifesaving and help remove barriers to making Lubbock safer for homeless pets. Recently, Best Friends sent each of the mayoral candidates a survey to gain insight into each one’s local knowledge and priorities in animal welfare. The survey consisted of six questions on various animal-related topics, such as support for animal control, policies and laws to allow necessary programs; position on trap-neuter-return programs; and the transparency of shelters.

For more information on the candidates or voting in the Lubbock mayoral election, please visit  votelubbock.org

Best Friends reached out to all Lubbock mayoral candidates and the following candidates responded to the survey: 
Stephen Sanders 
Gulrez ("Gus") Khan 
Adam Hernandez 
E. Major Garza 

The following candidate did not respond to the survey: 
Tray Payne 
 

Do you support allowing animal control facilities and shelters in Lubbock to implement the programs that they deem necessary to save all healthy and treatable homeless dogs and cats? Please explain your position.

Sanders: Yes 
Khan: Yes 
Hernandez: Yes 
Garza: Yes 
 

Please describe your position on trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) programs by animal control facilities and shelters to humanely reduce the free-roaming stray cat population.

Sanders: It's a great idea, and the reason I believe it's a great idea is because it addresses the issue directly in a mannerable way.

Khan: Will discuss once we meet up.

Hernandez: I think this is a great way to keep stray populations down in a humane way.

Garza: I have not seen the estimated cost on trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) programs and what this cost would actually create as a means of reducing the problem of more animals on the streets. I would need more information so I could be more informed on actual metrics. I am sure other cities have done this with varying results. 
 

Please describe what you believe are the top three priorities of the animal shelter and field services in Lubbock.

Sanders: To protect citizens from animals that they are unfamiliar with. Serve the community by helping people by helping their animals. Educate the citizens on how to be responsible pet owners.

Khan: Public sharing of inspection in animal shelters, provide shelter to stray dogs and cats, create boards and commissions to study and analyze our dogs and cats issues.

Hernandez: Controlling stray populations is a priority for many communities in Lubbock. Some areas are worse than others, but it is a city-wide issue.

Garza: The people that provide us with their generosity through their hard-earned money, in the form of taxation, should be satisfied with their purchase. That would be my one metric, not three. We have to understand that the people can solve this problem but the costs can’t be overwhelming to those in Lubbock. For example, some people can’t afford to feed their families because of current events. What happens if more people release their pets into the community because they can’t afford to feed their pets. I know of this issue because I bought two dogs from a family that couldn’t feed them or themselves.