Animalis Fabula Film Festival

Dr. Temple Grandin to Lead Public Forum on San Antonio’s Stray Dog Crisis
SAN ANTONIO, TX — The Animalis Fabula Film Festival (#AniFab25) has announced a special public event to be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025, featuring a prominent figure in animal science, Dr. Temple Grandin. As part of the festival's programming, Dr. Grandin will lead an open forum focused on the city's significant issue of stray, homeless, and roaming dogs.
The forum, titled "Dogs of San Antonio Open Forum 2," is a follow-up to a previous discussion hosted by the World Animal Awareness Society and will be held at the historic 1,000 seat Woodlawn Theater. The event is free and open to all citizens of San Antonio, providing a platform for the community to collaboratively explore the complexities and reasons behind the ongoing crisis.
Dr. Grandin expressed a desire to listen to and engage with the local animal welfare community. The forum is expected to bring together pillars of the San Antonio rescue and welfare community, including Gods Dogs Rescue, San Antonio Animal Care Services and every stakeholder in San Antonio, as they seek to gain insight from Dr. Grandin's renowned expertise in animal behavior and systems thinking.
Dr. Grandin has insisted that youth from local 4-H and FFA chapters be given a meaningful presence at the forum. The festival reports that Dr. Grandin believes these young people, with their fresh perspectives and hands-on experience, may be the ones to identify the solutions that existing government and NGO leaders have been unable to solve. The forum's format is designed to be a formal yet open session, filmed to document the discussions and insights generated. The goal is to define a path that can be followed to address the city’s most pressing animal welfare issues.
The event highlights the World Animal Awareness Society’s commitment with AniFab to create real-world impact and serve as a civic celebration for San Antonio. The forum is an opportunity to move the conversation forward from theory to actionable solutions.
"We are incredibly honored to have Dr. Grandin's participation," said Tom McPhee, Festival Director of AniFab25. "Her willingness to engage with our local community on such a critical issue is a testament to her mission. We believe her unique approach to problem-solving could be ‘An Open Door’ for meaningful change right here in San Antonio."