Critics of Animal Care Services say our drive to humane care misses the big picture

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Another leadership change is in the works at ACS. On August 20, Kathy Davis took charge of the agency. In a sharp contrast to Angelo's business background, Davis has worked on animal care issues for more than a decade, giving some in the animal rescue community high hopes for her success.

Davis was director of code compliance in Dallas from 2002 to 2008. She comes to San Antonio from Los Angeles where she headed the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, a philanthropy devoted to combating animal cruelty. Though new to the job, Davis is optimistic and complimentary to previous leadership. "Amazing strides have been made this past year towards achieving the goal," Davis said in an email to the Current.

Among those strides has been Angelo's development of public-private partnerships like the ones forged with SAPA and Best Friends Animal Society. "My initial plan will be to continue to build on the positive, progressive partnerships that are successfully in place," Davis said. Davis has her eye on the long-term, however. Spay-and-neuter programs as well as education projects are among her top priorities. "Once we attain no-kill, we cannot pull the plug on the programs most responsible for getting us there," Davis said.

Though impressed with Davis' experience, Pearson and others have grown accustomed to disappointment. "As soon as the pressure's off, it goes to crap again," Pearson said. "We need a director who has empathy." Could Davis be the one?

> Email Andrew Oxford and Scott Andrews