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The animal shelter’s new manager wants to balance the needs of people with those of the animals.
With the change in leadership at the Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center, many residents are anxious to see how Tyler Winckler, the new animal services manager, guides the team this summer, one of the busiest times for animal shelters.
Having spent almost a decade working with animals, Winckler’s most recent position was less “hands-on.” While focused on the public, Winckler said he looks forward to animal welfare again.
“I feel like helping animals, those who don’t have a voice,” Winckler said, although “my true passion is serving the community.”
Coming from El Paso, with a population over 600,000, Winckler has goals for small-town Farmers Branch.
Winckler wants to “change the mindset of what animal services is.”
“The City of Farmers Branch is uniquely positioned to do a lot of good things,” he said.
No longer dusty from his time in the desert city, Winckler is fired-up and ready.
“The first time I drove through Farmers Branch, I just fell in love with all the trees, the grass, the waterways. It was truly amazing,” said Winckler.
The city made a significant first impression on Winckler.
“I chose Farmers Branch specifically based on the fact that city management seemed really invested in animal welfare,” said Winckler. “Farmers Branch seems like a great community, a great place to be, and our city management seems to prioritize animal services as well… which is great.”
Winckler began his work with animals at Sit Means Sit, a private dog-training company in College Station.
“I started as a kennel tech,” said Winckler.
By the time he left he oversaw facility maintenance, staff and logistics as operations manager.
“I moved to San Antonio, Texas, after that,” said Winckler. He worked for City of San Antonio Animal Care Services for three years.
During his time here he was “an animal care officer… main goal at San Antonio ACS was to help bridge the gap between the animal shelter and the general public.”
Winckler then made the move to El Paso, where he lived for the last two years.
“I worked for the El Paso County Animal Welfare Department for a little less than a year,” said Winckler. As a field operations supervisor, Winckler helped launch a low-cost program that provided animal care, something that he hopes to do in Farmers Branch.
“If there was one thing that I could do, it would be to provide low-cost vet services to the community as a whole. That would be the one thing that I would love to see us be able to offer,” he said. “It’s something we can take a look at.”
Winckler stayed in El Paso and began working remotely for the Humane Society of the United States as the senior coordinator for the law enforcement training center. His team trained roughly 10,000 animal law enforcement officials annually.
“I wasn’t able to have the direct hands-on care that I really, really loved,” said Winckler about his time with HSUS. “Working for an agency was a fantastic opportunity for me. It gave me access to hundreds of animal shelters across the country… It was such a great learning opportunity for me.”
Having never directly worked in an adoption center or animal shelter, Winckler is embracing the learning opportunity.
“I really missed the municipal animal welfare world,” said Winckler, “I’ve been working with animals for about nine years now.”
However, most of that time has been spent in a more hands-off, managerial role overseeing maintenance and staff, as well as public relations.
“My true passion is serving the community,” said Winckler. “More proactive community outreach is something that is on the horizon for us.”
