The Art Of Dog.™

by Anna Cooke

There’s a Trojan Horse rolling into the Tampa Bay Area. Who’s being used to hide behind whom is yet to be determined. Being open-minded and having frank discussions on out-of-the-box ideas and strategies are good tools to have in the animal shelter world.

The SPCA Tampa Bay is about to launch For All Dogs, a pilot program that involves a partnership with Sunshine Puppies (a retail store that sells puppies in the Tampa Bay Area) and Pinnacle Pet (one of the largest brokers of puppies in the country). In fact, after a year of discussions between the three entities, the partnership has already essentially been consummated. Earlier, this year, several retired breeder dogs were imported from commercial breeding enterprises (CBEs) in the Midwest to the SPCA Tampa Bay for adoption purposes.

Not everyone wants to adopt a shelter dog. Some people want a specific breed, others want a puppy. When that’s the case, through the partnership’s program, SPCA Tampa Bay will direct shelter visitors to Sunshine Puppies to purchase a puppy. In turn, Sunshine Puppies is planning to place kiosks in their two Pinellas County store locations that will feature the adoptable dogs at the SPCA Tampa Bay.

The partnership came about after the Pinellas County Commission voted to prohibit any new stores from selling puppies and kittens in June, 2022. The commission did not grant animal advocates’ pleas to shutter the six existing stores currently selling puppies in the county. Sunshine Puppies is one of the businesses grandfathered in.

CBEs, more commonly known as puppy mills, engage in systematic neglect and abuse of animals, leaving severe emotional and physical scars on the victims. One in four former breeding dogs have significant health problems, are more likely to suffer from aggression, and are psychologically and emotionally shut down, compulsively staring at nothing. 

Quite a few of the CBEs that supply Sunshine Puppies with puppies have had multiple USDA and state violations including: Cedar Ridge Kennels in Neodesha, Kansas (the owners could not locate the last recorded date for annual heartworm and fecal float testing for 236 dogs. In 2018, the owners surrendered more than 140 dogs to a shelter, many of whom were either ill or near death); Shady Grove Kennels in Kansas (62 adult dogs, 42 puppies; build up of dried dirt and feces on the raised dog crates); Sean’s Puppies in Missouri (breeding dogs and selling puppies without the required state license); Puppy Travelers in Missouri (multiple violations including 24 puppies seized from a Puppy Travelers transport vehicle outside a Petland store in Florida in 2018. The puppies were found with “urine, feces, and no water” in their cages. Many of the puppies were sick.)

Pinnacle Pet is connected to Puppy Travelers as a combination puppy broker/transporter. They are under the legal business name Sobrad, LLC and are associated with a number of different names, including Bateman Diversified and Northeast Transit, all listed under the same Neosho, Missouri address. Sobrad, LLC was cited by the USDA in 2015 for an incident involving puppies overheating on a transport vehicle. Nine puppies died.

Why would a shelter – in a geographic area of Florida where the municipal shelters are almost always at-capacity, in a state that is number four in the United States with the highest euthanasia numbers of healthy adoptable dogs – want to align themselves with entities known to be associated with the puppy mill business? Is it good business, or just good PR?

Martha Boden, CEO of the SPCA Tampa Bay, has spoken in front of city and county commissioners against the retail sales of puppies and kittens over the last 10 years. In 2022, after the Pinellas County Commission voted to prohibit any new stores from selling dogs and cats, Boden was quoted in a Tampa Bay Times article, noting that the abuse at large-scale breeding operations is well-documented and that retail stores help prop up that industry. “In fact these businesses are helping to create the demand for mass-produced puppies by misrepresenting what has happened to those animals, their parents and their siblings before they even arrived at the store,” Boden said in the Times’ article.

Why the change of heart?

The answers were presented to The New Barker  during a three-hour meeting recently with Martha Boden; Dan Cohn, the owner of Sunshine Puppies; Chris Fleming, the co-owner of Pinnacle Pet; and Missy Hurley of B2 Communications, the PR firm for the SPCA Tampa Bay. The following numbered points were discussed during the meeting to help justify the pilot program, For All Dogs, and the partnership between the three entities. My responses, for the purposes of this article, are in bold.

1) Florida will never pass statewide legislation to stop the sale of puppies and kittens in retail stores. “It just won’t happen,” said Boden. “For 20 years the animal advocates and puppy retail store owners have been on opposite sides, fighting. And the only ones suffering are the dogs. It’s time we work together to affect change – to really make a difference.” This was a combined quote between Cohn and Boden.

From the Editor: 10 years ago the industry would have said no state was going to ban the sale of puppies in pet stores. Now, seven have. There is no long term future in this puppy selling pet store business model. They’ve lost several of the biggest states in the nation and more are to come. Animal advocates are continuing to make a huge impact on puppy mills.
In January 2022, a bill was introduced in Florida, misleadingly presented as an animal protection bill. Florida House Bill 849/Senate Bill 994 contained meaningless regulations that would not protect animals, but would prevent local governments from enacting future ordinances to prevent the sale of puppies in their communities’ stores. The lobbyist who fought for the bills was funded, in large part, by Luis Marquez, president of Petland Florida and Petland Texas. The bill did not pass, thanks to a groundswell of support from animal advocates alerting their Representatives.
Prompted by community interest in shutting down the puppy mill pipeline, cities and counties across the country have adopted local laws to end the sale of dogs and cats in stores. Profitable and successful pet stores in the U.S. do not have to sell dogs and cats, and people are taking notice. More than 80 municipalities in Florida have passed ordinances banning the retail sale of puppies, kittens, dogs, and cats in pet stores.
Michigan just passed legislation to ban the retail sale of commercially-bred animals in pet stores, to take effect in 2025. The Oregon Legislature voted in August 2023 to stop any additional pet stores in the state from selling puppies or kittens and phase out these sales in existing stores.  The state of Washington passed a similar law in 2021. Illinois and New York in 2022. Maryland in 2020. California enacted a similar law in 2017.  Louisville, Kentucky just passed an ordinance to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores and outdoor spaces like flea markets.
The passages of these laws nationwide have decreased the number of USDA licensed puppy mills by 1/3 with an average number of 87 adult dogs per kennel in 2012 and 57 in 2022.  Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business. 

2) Last year 9 million dogs were acquired by people. Of that number, less than 5% were purchased from a pet retail store. The numbers are so low that there is no way bringing in two or three dogs every so often through this chain will affect pet adoptions at SPCA Tampa Bay and Pinellas County Animal Services. Adoptions are still the number one way people acquire dogs.

3) Give the community what it wants and give them options. Through the partnership’s program, people can opt to purchase a purebred puppy or adopt a purebred retired breeder dog or imperfect puppy. People will now be able say, without shame or guilt, that they adopted their purebred puppy from the SPCA Tampa Bay.  “It’s a shame that people who purchase dogs feel guilty they didn’t adopt the dog,” said Fleming. “We’d like to help change that perception through this pilot program.”

Added Boden, “Nothing against the block-headed dogs, we love them just as much as anyone else. But bringing in dogs and puppies like Pomeranians, ShihTzus – you know – the dogs that the public really wants to adopt, will help bring more people to our shelter, and really that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

From the Editor: Actually, no it’s not what it’s all about. The underlying mission statement of private shelters is to protect the animals. Giving the public what you believe they want with options makes you a retail store. 

4) The results of  a recent study conducted by Purdue University are the basis for a nationwide certification program that establishes “rigorous standards for breeders.” Canine Care Certified will be a “blue ribbon standard” for the CBEs currently working with Pinnacle Pet, who has invited them all to participate. It is not a requirement, merely a suggestion from Pinnacle Pet. For a nominal annual fee, an independent contractor will inspect the CBE’s facility to make sure they are in compliance with the Purdue University checklist in order to receive the Canine Care Certification. Retail stores, like Sunshine Puppies, will then be able to market that their puppies come from breeders who have been Canine Care Certified – much like most retail stores have already been doing with the USDA.

From the Editor: When it comes to inspecting puppy mills, the USDA standards are pretty low, so efforts to raise the bar aren’t going to put a strain on the way a CBE runs its business. 

5) Pinnacle Pet, the puppy broker, created A Dog’s Dream, a 501(c)(3), to take in the retired breeder dogs and imperfect puppies, then transport them to SPCA Tampa Bay. The dogs will be transported across country in the same vehicles used to transport puppies to retail stores for inventory. Pinnacle Pet will be reimbursing the breeder for the cost of vaccines and standard veterinary care for a puppy. The breeders will not be compensated for turning over the retired breeder dogs to Pinnacle for adoption purposes. As per the SPCA Tampa Bay’s longstanding protocol, no special treatment will be given to the dogs and puppies that come in through A Dog’s Dream. In other words, their adoptability will not supplant the existing dogs in the shelter available for adoption. To date, only retired breeder dogs have been transported to the SPCA Tampa Bay for adoption.

From the Editor: Regarding transporting the dogs to SPCA Tampa Bay in the same vehicles that ship puppies to pet stores. The CDC said there are sanitation problems at every link of the chain in the commercial pet breeding industry. That is why pet store puppies are often sick. 

6) Currently, through the partnership, Sunshine Puppies is working with the SPCA Tampa Bay medical staff. SPCA Tampa Bay veterinarians visit Sunshine Puppies once a week to perform exams on the puppies. Any sick puppies are transported to SPCA Tampa Bay’s medical facilities to be treated. Regarding the kiosks Cohn wants to place in his stores, he said that some people who visit his stores may not be able to afford the price of the puppies in his inventory. Additionally, he said he has had people visiting who have asked about the availability of adoptable dogs. 

From the Editor: In the meeting, it felt as if the overall consensus for animal sheltering was “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” This felt similar to the initiative presented during the 2022 Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) national conference in Orlando. One of the conference’s speakers presented reasons for why shelters should consider either breeding their own puppies and/or at least working with breeders to supply puppies in their shelters. The idea was tabled, at least for the time being, after the information became public, and the rescue community and animal advocates became vocal against the movement.
Shelters – municipal or private – have no business getting into breeding dogs.  For that matter, neither do rescue groups.

7) Boden and staff flew out to Missouri to several CBE facilities with Pinnacle Pet. “The facilities were beautiful,” said Boden. “And we learned that they run their kennels very similar to the way we run our shelter.”

From the Editor: Was this the best use of shelter funds? Didn’t anyone on the board question this?  The SPCA Tampa Bay has capable staff and a budget to develop and create marketing campaigns to showcase its adoptable dogs and programs. They can continue to think outside the box with programs that partner with municipal shelters and rescue groups. And, if there comes a time that there are no more shelter dogs to adopt, then they should be prepared to have programs in place that will ensure families stay together.
In this regard, why did the SPCA Tampa Bay recently opt out of Pinellas County Animal Services low cost spay/neuter program? It was because they felt it was costing them too much money and interfered with their paying clients.  The voucher program is an important and much-needed community service that includes a partnership with Friends of Strays, Humane Society of Pinellas and Pet Pal Animal Shelter. 
Again, where are the board members on this initiative with Sunshine Puppies and Pinnacle Pet? It is somewhat understandable why employees and volunteers aren’t speaking up. The culture at many shelters has been “if you aren’t with us you’re against us.” Those who work and volunteer at shelters are being fired for saying something that doesn’t sit well with the administrative staff. Even board members are afraid to speak up for fear of being booted off the board. 
If this program rolls out, don’t be fooled by the way it is presented. The facts will be twisted in their favor. Don’t believe for a minute that the efforts animal advocates have made over the last 10 years at the legislative level aren’t making a difference. Don’t believe that it will only be two or three dogs, every once in awhile, and that municipal shelters like Pinellas County Animal Services won’t be affected. If no one speaks up against this initiative, it will become multiple dogs being imported from puppy mills. Once this pipeline is opened, how much damage will be done before it’s closed? 
A private shelter like the SPCA Tampa Bay is a business that can run its operations as it wants. It relies on the support and donations from the community and corporate business partners. Do you think this initiative and the shelter’s beliefs behind it align with yours? To effect change, the community must speak up. Ask questions. Put your thoughts and concerns in writing. And this is not conjecture. Pinellas County government is complicit with all of this, looking the other way, and allowing the importation of puppies sourced from puppy mills.
SPCA Tampa Bay, there are so many other opportunities in our community with which to form partnerships that would better benefit animal welfare.

Additional Facts: In August, nearly 270 at-risk dogs and cats were taken out of over-crowded Florida shelters and flown to shelters in New Jersey and New Hampshire. *Clear the Shelters and Greater Good Charities. Why are we importing any dogs from anywhere when this state is over-capacity? Outside of a natural disaster or emergency to assist neighboring states, we should be taking care of the animals on our own turf. While huge strides are being made to clear our Florida shelters, others are importing dogs from other states and countries.

Options? The community already has options. Here is an example: In June, Florida Little Dog Rescue in Osceola County was looking for foster homes for 14 Doodle puppies they obtained from Florida breeders from four different litters. The 14 puppies did not sell and the breeders did not want them, and that gets expensive for the breeder. “When you sell a puppy in the state of Florida, the law requires that you have to provide a health certificate,” said Laurie Johnson, director of Florida Little Dog Rescue. “Every four weeks in the state of Florida, you have to go and get that health certificate renewed if you’re selling puppies. So, if the puppies don’t sell immediately, it mean repeated trips back to the vet and that isn’t financially profitable for the breeder.”

In November 2021, the ASPCA assisted with the rescue of more than 500 hundred dogs from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-licensed commercial dog breeding facility in Iowa. Breeder Daniel Gingerich was licensed by the USDA in 2019, but the agency didn’t inspect his facility until 2021. When the USDA finally did the inspection, they found many animals suffering: dogs hidden from inspectors, ongoing disease outbreaks like parvovirus and distemper, heat distress, lack of water and food, dead and dying dogs–over 200 violation of the Animal Welfare Act in total. Documents filed with the state of Florida show that nearly 40% of Florida’s puppy-selling stores imported dogs from Gingerich’s puppy mill in Iowa.

by Bonnie Georgiadis

We were excited about getting 61 winged pelicans. They were to be displayed in a sanctuary along the Weeki Wachee River as an additional point of interest for patrons enjoying the Wilderness River Cruise at Weeki Wachee Springs. The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary donated them to us because they were overcrowded with pelicans that could never be released back into the wild. A great deal of care was taken to select the right location for The Pelican Sanctuary. The existing steep slope was terraced, complete with gently sloping sand, ramps and tropical landscaping. An enormous shallow pool was constructed for swimming and a fence was added all the way around. A walk-in freezer and a tub for thawing fish was put in behind the scenes. It was quite a big deal to prepare for them.

Then came the grand opening. Ralph Heath, the ubiquitous founder of the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, brought most of his staff and several trucks full of animal flight crates, loaded with one-winged pelican amputees. The seabirds were injured as a result of fishing line accidents, when fishermen would cut their line if it became fouled in the branches of mangrove islands. The line would wrap around a bird’s wing (not only pelicans). Unable to fly, they would hang there until either someone found them or they starved to death. So these birds arriving at Weeki Wachee were the lucky ones. They all marched, or I should say waddled, single file down to their swimming pool. About half of them kept right on going past the pool and waddled up to the fence along the river, climbed up the chicken wire which was attached to the split rail fencing and jumped into the river. The current in the river is pretty strong. The pelicans paddled as fast as they could with their webbed feet but couldn’t make any headway against it.

We all dashed for our cars, rushed back to the attraction (about a mile away) to get the work boat and some long handled catch nets. Meanwhile the maintenance men added another rail to the fence to make it taller. What a day that was. Scoop up a pelican, rush back to the pen, put birds into the pen and hurry back to get another one.

The office was getting phone calls from residents eight miles down-river about pelicans floating by. At the end of the ordeal we took a beak count and there were still 61 of them. Whew.

A few months passed and the Bird Department was becoming accustomed to the routine of going down to the pen every afternoon, thawing 80 pounds of thread herring and hand-tossing them to the pelicans. We hand-fed them so we could study their physical condition. They were fed 80 pounds during the summer months, and double that amount in the winter. They were hungrier when it was cold. The type of fish we fed them would change with the seasons, based on whatever smallish fish was available in the marketplace.

Our troubles began on a freezing January night. The natural predators of pelicans (raccoons, opossums, et al), saw their appetites also increase with the cooler weather, and our birds were easy prey. They couldn’t fly or get up high as a normal pelican would. They were nesting on the ground and couldn’t defend themselves. The captain of the first Wilderness River Cruise of the day, called me and reported that he saw a dead pelican in the pen. I found the bird partially eaten. Three days later another one was killed the same way. We had an electric hot wire installed around the fence but the raccoon or opossum, whichever it was, would dig under the exclosure.

At the time, we were practicing wild bird rehabilitation for birds of prey at the attraction. When we received any water birds, a local farmer was brought in to shuttle them down river to the Seabird Sanctuary. On one of my visits to his farm, I drove into the farmyard and was horrified to see dead birds and pieces of dead birds scattered about the yard. The farmer told me that they usually had two large dogs on guard, but a week earlier one of the dogs had disappeared. Last night, the remaining dog, still despondent over the loss of his friend, and shaking from the bitter cold outside, was allowed to come inside for comfort. The predator or predators struck. There were chickens and ducks, geese, a peacock and a turkey. All torn apart. It’s not Disney World out here. Some critters just kill for fun.

As I drove away I kept thinking, everything was all right until the dogs were gone. A dog! That’s what we needed at the pelican pen. I was lucky there was already an existing ten foot high chain link fence encircling the outer perimeter of the smaller fenced pelican area.

And I had the dog. Gretchen, a Doberman Pinscher, was a trained guard dog. Except the night watchman said she was afraid of noises and when he gave the command, “Go search” she wouldn’t leave his side. But that didn’t matter. It’s the scent of a dog that would keep the predators away.

It worked. All was quiet for many months until Gretchen dug in under The Sanctuary fence and chased the pelicans. She didn’t harm any of them. They injured themselves trying to get away from her. One drowned in the pool during the stampede. If Gretchen got in once, she’d do it again. It was too enticing. I had to find her another home and get a new dog.

Fortunately, one of the girls in the Bird Department, Dana Proger, was looking for a home for Cleo, a Pit Bull mix. I’d heard about the reputation of Pit Bulls, but this dog always looked like she was smiling, and I needed a dog bad. I decided to give her a trial run. Lucky dog, lucky me, lucky pelicans. Cleo had found her calling.

The boat captains would notify me when Cleo was barking. She only barked when she had a reason. She would bark at anything that wasn’t a pelican. She barked at vultures if they perched too close to the pen. She barked if a great blue heron sat on a fence post. One time she barked so frantically I was called to go find out what was wrong. She met me at the gate and insisted I follow her. She went down to the outskirts of the pen, then ran back to me, back and forth. I followed her to the area and there was a pelican wedged with one wing under the fence, the other stub of a wing jammed under an exposed root. I never would have found her there. Cleo was licking that stub of a wing…that’s all she could reach. When I got the bird loose, Cleo walked along with me, licking the pelican’s feet as I carried the bird back to the entrance of the pen.

Another time a gentleman walked up to me at The Birds Of Prey Show Stadium and said, “I just got off the boat ride. Is there supposed to be a dog in the pelican pen?” I said, “Inside the pelican pen?”

When I got there, all appeared to be normal. The birds were waddling around in the pen and swimming in their pool. There was no sign of panic as there had been when Gretchen got in. They were not upset at all. And there was Cleo, laying down with her front paws crossed just inside the pen’s gate, gazing at her adored pelicans. I repaired the place where she had squeezed inside and she never tried to get in again.

There were no predator problems as long as we had Cleo present, but we did have a snake problem. One was eating pelican eggs. I tried setting a trap that was small enough for a snake to enter but it couldn’t exit if it had swallowed an egg. Then put a couple of chicken eggs inside. Never caught the snake. Then I found out why. The snake was too big to enter the trap.

Again, one of the boat captains alerted me that Cleo was barking. She greeted me at the gate and was more excited than usual. I noticed she had some blood on her sides and on her face. She circled toward a big clump of grass and back to me so I followed her. As I neared the tall grass I saw the head of a large snake rise above the grass to look around, then disappear back down. I examined Cleo’s face and saw two fang marks. I immediately put her in my truck and drove her back to the attraction office.

When I called the veterinarian he said to observe her for awhile and see if there was any reaction to the venom. Luckily she showed no signs of anything wrong, so I left her there and went back to the pen to see about the snake. By this time the snake was dead. It was a very large cotton mouthed moccasin. It’s midsection was perforated by Cleo’s teeth. The dog had whipped her head back and forth so violently that the snake’s innards were protruding from its mouth. That’s why Cleo had blood on her flanks.It was the snake’s blood.

That afternoon I skinned the snake to keep proof of how big it was. And proof of what a wonderful dog Cleo was. Don’t ever say anything derogatory to me about Pit Bulls. Cleo loved people, and would do anything to protect her pelicans. She was one treasure of a dog.

by Anna Cooke

Recently, we visited Citrus County Animal Services and met with Operations Supervisor Colleen Yarbrough, Citrus County Foundation for Animal Protection President Wanda Moak, Citrus County Board of County Commissioner Ruthie Davis Schlabach, and Citrus County Public Information Officer Veronica Kampschroer. The main focus of our discussions was the need for a new shelter. Then, we took a tour.

Money does not get a new shelter built. People do. Supporters, volunteers, staff and animal advocates who live in and around Citrus County are moving forward with a capital campaign. They are advocating loudly for a new building to replace the old, outdated and dilapidated one that has housed Citrus County Animal Services for more than 40 years. Not everyone is on board with the new shelter movement, even though it’s been a hot topic among county leaders, county commissioners and campaigning politicians for the last 20 years.

Years ago, around the time Citrus County Animal Services’ shelter was built, public animal shelter buildings were designed with the idea that a high percentage of dogs and cats taken in would be killed. Under such circumstances, the thinking was that the health and comfort of the animals was not a concern since they would not be in the shelter for long. Back then, efficiency was more important in shelter design than concern for the animals.

In Citrus County, there are some who feel the existing shelter is just fine the way it is. However, the way it is includes animals exposed to the elements (heat, cold, rain), cramped quarters for the animals and staff, a rotting roof, no designated areas to quarantine animals to keep the sick ones away from healthy ones, and a poor drainage system. There is more. If you are a resident of Citrus County, and you’ve never been to your municipal shelter, you should pay a visit. It will be eye-opening.

For instance, before animals are brought in from an impending cruelty case, Citrus County Animal Services staff and volunteers must immediately start creating makeshift quarantine areas. They build temporary kennels and move animals, equipment, supplies, and staff to accommodate the additional intake.
Providing a good customer experience in the existing building is difficult. There is only one entrance for the public to use. Imagine someone enters the shelter to
consider adopting a pet, while passing someone else exiting in tears after having their pet humanely euthanized. Two completely different experiences that occur often at the same time.

On campus, inside or outside, staff members and volunteers have no place to go to decompress. Kennel fatigue is real and these quiet areas are necessities, not
luxuries, to ensure the health and well-being of staff and volunteers. Building a new shelter is just as much about taking care of the humans who work and volunteer there as it is about caring for the animals. Educational and enrichment programs for children, like the reading programs found at so many shelters, are non-existent here. These are fundamental to teaching kids, among other things, the importance of responsible pet ownership. As it stands now, how can parents be encouraged to bring their child to an unsafe and unhealthy environment?

New shelters offer lots of natural light, entry areas that welcome the public, frequent air exchange, more space per animal, colony housing for cats away from dogs, and noise control. There are good reasons for
providing these basic amenities.

Right now, Citrus County Animal Services is a facility that is unsafe and unsanitary for humans and animals.

At least seventy percent of the community’s voters have expressed support for a new shelter. They have already raised more than one million dollars without the help of a big fundraising event to kick off a capital
campaign drive.

We have to wonder whether the other 30 percent, who are so against a new shelter, have ever visited Citrus County Animal Services? Do they even know what staff does to keep their community safe? And, are they aware of how encumbered staff are, doing their jobs in an outdated facility? Perhaps they don’t know that a municipal shelter’s first priority is to protect the public. Maybe they don’t realize the breadth of services the shelter is providing for the health, safety and well-being of the community.

Citrus County Animal Services, the only open-admission shelter serving Citrus County, takes in approximately 5,000 animals a year, regardless of capacity or reason for surrender. In spite of the limited space and resources, the shelter does not euthanize for space.

Since 2019, the shelter staff and volunteers have increased lifesaving measures to achieve a live release rate of more than 90% for cats and dogs. They have developed good working relationships with area rescue groups and other shelters as well as their local animal advocacy groups to make sure the adoptable dogs and cats receive the public exposure they need to increase adoptions.

Citrus County Foundation for Animal Protection (CCFAP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that partners with the shelter to help increase adoptions and ensure the well-being of the shelter’s animals. They have raised funds to help cover certain medical care for shelter animals, including low cost spay/neuter procedures and microchip programs, and purchase medical equipment.

Shelter staff members are encouraged to take additional steps to help reunite a stray dog with their humans. This has been a godsend in an area that has a large older population, many of whom may not have access to computers and the internet to report and/or look for their lost pets.

Additionally, the shelter will hold onto a pet whose owner may be temporarily incapacitated. Those who are hospitalized, working through mental challenges and/or incarcerated can receive some assistance with their pets’ care. The mindset is to keep families together.

The shelter also manages eight pet food pantries around the county as part of the Community Food Bank of Citrus County for pet parents struggling to feed their pets.

“General capacity for our shelter is about 68 dogs and roughly 30 cats,” said Colleen Yarbrough, Director of Citrus County Animal Services. The shelter consistently sees numbers way beyond capacity. Overcrowding is not as a result of owner-surrenders, but more from animals confiscated during cruelty investigations, which appears to be on the rise. In a recent instance, the shelter took in 51 dogs just from one case.

After animals are confiscated as part of a cruelty case, they are often held at the shelter as evidence throughout the investigation. This puts an additional burden on an already overcrowded shelter. In another case, last year, officers
confiscated 43 dogs, three chickens and one pig – all in one investigation. The result was makeshift kennels and shelter animals living in the conference and break rooms. Climate-controlled storage units were added outside to house the overflow of animals. In the last 12 months alone, more than 200 animals have come through the shelter as a result of cruelty cases.

The public may not realize another service the shelter provides. Full forensic exams are conducted by shelter staff as part of ongoing cruelty investigations to help in building cases for successful outcomes.

While the expense to build a shelter without a veterinary medical suite may decrease the initial budget, it is important to look at the long term savings when those services remain in-house. Outsourcing veterinary medical needs has become a costly endeavor, and those costs continue to rise. Not to mention the level of care an on-site veterinary clinic would provide.

This staff is doing amazing work even with the lack of resources. Oftentimes, the place looks like a M.A.S.H. unit on the frontlines of a war zone. When a dog was brought to the shelter with three inches of bone exposed on her leg, staff did skin grafts and anything else that was needed to make sure her leg was saved.

Last year, veterinary students from Puerto Rico visited the shelter through a Maddie’s Fund program. The visiting students were able to experience how an outdated shelter with limited resources is able to function. Think about that. According to the Sato Project, there are an estimated 500,000 stray dogs roaming Puerto Rico’s streets and beaches with no access to food, fresh water or veterinary care. The drastically-strained municipal shelter system, which includes five shelters across all 78 of the island’s municipalities, has a combined euthanasia rate of more than 94%. Those veterinary students from Puerto Rico were sent to Citrus County Animal Services because of its poor condition in order to be better prepared to work within their own
limited environs.

Until we level the playing field between our municipal shelters and the public, we will continue to see a rise in unenforceable cruelty cases such as unattended chained dogs and dogs living in boxes outdoors. We cannot expect the public to provide better than the minimum care when it comes to space, shelter, food, and water for their pets when that minimum is all our municipal shelters have to legally provide the animals under their care.

The New Barker

Continuing to repair an outdated and dilapidated facility will only end up costing the citizens more – and that’s not only in money, but time, resources, and ultimately the lives of animals. It is not sustainable to keep running with such an old building. Animal management policies are essential to creating and sustaining humane communities. These policies should balance public health and safety with animal welfare needs.

Historically, municipal shelters have had it particularly tough when it comes to generating positive foot traffic. They’re competing with private shelters for adoptions and donations. Bringing a municipal shelter up to the 21st
century in terms of building, equipment and processes is paramount to remaining a viable community resource.

Marketing is key here. Educating the community with a clear message would be helpful. Inviting high-profile business leaders for a tour of the current shelter is an obvious first step. From a community standpoint, one cannot have a true appreciation of what their municipal shelter is doing until it is experienced firsthand.

“When people visit us for the first time, they leave surprised and amazed at the work we are doing with such limited resources,” said Yarbrough.

Shelter animals deserve safe, humane housing while they wait for placement. A new shelter building can be the capstone of a community’s continuing efforts to remain No Kill. Having amenities such as modern bathrooms and a kitchen are not luxuries, they are necessities. Give the hard-working staff and volunteers the tools to make their jobs easier and safer so they can focus their energy on the animals instead of shoring up a dilapidated building.

As the mission of animal shelters has changed, so too has their design needs. Today, new shelters are designed with the purpose of having animals leave the shelter alive, healthy and happy through the front door versus being
quietly euthanized and taken out the back door.