In the wake of numerous deadly dog attacks , San Antonio has spent big hiring new animal control officers, opening new community spay-neuter clinics and trying to improve its response rate to residents’ calls.

But one long-scrutinized metric continues to struggle even as city leaders boast about their other successes.

Last week Animal Care Services Director Jonathan Gary told the City Council that the municipal shelter’s live release rate — meaning the percentage of animals that are either adopted, transferred to another shelter or returned to the owner versus being euthanized or dying in the city’s care — was at 86%.

That’s lower than when animal rescue groups first flagged concern that San Antonio was backsliding on euthanasia rates three years ago. Generally, a shelter would

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