8,800 pets euthanized, thousands others rescued in Polk County

Sunday
Dec 31, 2017 at 6:52 PM Dec 31, 2017 at 6:53 PM

Marilyn Meyer @marilyn_ledger

LAKELAND — Polk County residents saved thousands of animals through adoptions in 2017, but even with those efforts, more than 8,800 cats and dogs were euthanized, according to statistics from the county’s Animal Control Division.

Polk County Animal Control does not keep track of why animals are put down, but officials broadly estimate about 10 percent are because of behavioral issues including aggression, between 10 percent and 20 percent are medically related and 10 percent are requested by the pets’ owners.

“The largest percentage — between 60 percent and 70 percent — are euthanized because of space limitations and the feral cat population,” said Brian Bruchey, a spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and its Animal Control Division.

Animal Control does not have a set number of cats, dogs and other animals it can house at its shelter in Winter Haven, Bruchey said.

“We generally like to keep our daily average to about 450 animals that are housed, but due to unusual circumstances, that number has gone as high as 700, though not often,” Bruchey said.

Last Thursday, the number was 589, he said.

While the Animal Control Division handles many of the animals euthanized in the county, veterinarians also euthanize pets because of medical issues. Those numbers are not available.

Animal Control helped find homes for 4,888 animals — with 3,085 animals adopted by individuals and families and 1,803 taken by pet rescue organizations for re-homing, he said.

The adoption numbers are only a snapshot that indicates how well the area is doing in saving the lives of homeless cats, dogs and other animals because the county's animal shelter is not the only source that rescue organizations use to find animals. And, of course, good-hearted folks throughout the community take in stray dogs and cats. 

Adoption statistics

Here are some numbers from the larger organizations on how many pets were adopted out:

• Animal Control: 2,062 dogs, 998 cats and 25 other animals were adopted by the general public.

• Animal Control: 903 dogs, 382 cats and 308 other (such as horses and pigs) were rescued by other shelters and rescue organizations.

• SPCA of Florida: 4,350 dogs and cats were adopted by individuals and families.

• Humane Society of Polk County: Statistics for 2017 were not available to The Ledger, however, the organization’s website said that 1,100 animals were taken in during 2016.

There are smaller rescue groups that operate in the county, some specializing in specific breeds.

New rescue group

Pet Lovers of Polk County started in March as a 501c3, said Misty Futch, who founded the organization with her wife, Jennifer White, in Haines City.

Over the past nine months, approximately 120 animals, mostly dogs, have been rescued, some of them sheltered at the couple's home and others sheltered at about 10 other foster homes, Futch said. Approximately 50 dogs have been re-homed in Maine, she said.

“We developed a relationship with Maine Animal Coast Rescue because they practice neuter laws so stringently up there,” Futch said. About once a month, either Futch or White has driven a group of dogs cross-country to Maine, where neutering and new homes await, she said.

SPCA success

Adam Stanfield, executive director of the SPCA Florida, said that generally the SPCA shelter is housing about 120 animals at its Lakeland shelter at any one time, although during kitten season the number can go up to as high as 200 animals. An equal number of animals are typically in volunteer foster care  homes, he said.

“Our goal this year was an average of 12 adoptions a day and we surpassed that, averaging 15 animals a day,” Stanfield said.

The goal had been a total of 4,200 animals adopted and, as of late last week, the projected number of adoptions was 4,350, Stanfield said.

“We attribute a lot of that growth to community sponsors helping with fee-waivers at adoption events and promotions,” he said.

The SPCA takes in approximately 6,000 animals a year, according to its website.

The biggest issue animal rescue organizations face is the rapidity of reproduction, especially cats, Stanfield said. A cat can have three liters a year, each of four to six kittens.

To help control the population of homeless cats, the SPCA has operated a community cat program for about a decade. Typically, 2,200 to 2,600 community and feral cats are spayed and neutered during a year, Stanfield said. Most are brought in by the SPCA's trapper, although community members who feed stray cats also can participate by renting SPCA traps and paying a small fee to have their neighborhood strays neutered. The tip of an ear is notched as an indicator that cat will not be reproducing when it is returned to its community.

Stanfield said that the SPCA does not advertise as a no-kill shelter but it now meets all the guidelines of a no-kill facility and uses euthanasia only on occassion for compassionate care and health reasons.

Those numbers have improved dramatically over the past few years. In 2015, the SPCA opened a feline medical isolation area, which allowed the organization to drop the cat euthanasia rate by 75 percent, he said. And in September, a canine medical isolation area opened, so those numbers have dropped, too.

Marilyn Meyer can be reached at marilyn.meyer@theledger.com or 863-802-7558.

Sunday
Dec 31, 2017 at 6:52 PM Dec 31, 2017 at 6:53 PM

Marilyn Meyer @marilyn_ledger

LAKELAND — Polk County residents saved thousands of animals through adoptions in 2017, but even with those efforts, more than 8,800 cats and dogs were euthanized, according to statistics from the county’s Animal Control Division.

Polk County Animal Control does not keep track of why animals are put down, but officials broadly estimate about 10 percent are because of behavioral issues including aggression, between 10 percent and 20 percent are medically related and 10 percent are requested by the pets’ owners.

“The largest percentage — between 60 percent and 70 percent — are euthanized because of space limitations and the feral cat population,” said Brian Bruchey, a spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and its Animal Control Division.

Animal Control does not have a set number of cats, dogs and other animals it can house at its shelter in Winter Haven, Bruchey said.

“We generally like to keep our daily average to about 450 animals that are housed, but due to unusual circumstances, that number has gone as high as 700, though not often,” Bruchey said.

Last Thursday, the number was 589, he said.

While the Animal Control Division handles many of the animals euthanized in the county, veterinarians also euthanize pets because of medical issues. Those numbers are not available.

Animal Control helped find homes for 4,888 animals — with 3,085 animals adopted by individuals and families and 1,803 taken by pet rescue organizations for re-homing, he said.

The adoption numbers are only a snapshot that indicates how well the area is doing in saving the lives of homeless cats, dogs and other animals because the county's animal shelter is not the only source that rescue organizations use to find animals. And, of course, good-hearted folks throughout the community take in stray dogs and cats. 

Adoption statistics

Here are some numbers from the larger organizations on how many pets were adopted out:

• Animal Control: 2,062 dogs, 998 cats and 25 other animals were adopted by the general public.

• Animal Control: 903 dogs, 382 cats and 308 other (such as horses and pigs) were rescued by other shelters and rescue organizations.

• SPCA of Florida: 4,350 dogs and cats were adopted by individuals and families.

• Humane Society of Polk County: Statistics for 2017 were not available to The Ledger, however, the organization’s website said that 1,100 animals were taken in during 2016.

There are smaller rescue groups that operate in the county, some specializing in specific breeds.

New rescue group

Pet Lovers of Polk County started in March as a 501c3, said Misty Futch, who founded the organization with her wife, Jennifer White, in Haines City.

Over the past nine months, approximately 120 animals, mostly dogs, have been rescued, some of them sheltered at the couple's home and others sheltered at about 10 other foster homes, Futch said. Approximately 50 dogs have been re-homed in Maine, she said.

“We developed a relationship with Maine Animal Coast Rescue because they practice neuter laws so stringently up there,” Futch said. About once a month, either Futch or White has driven a group of dogs cross-country to Maine, where neutering and new homes await, she said.

SPCA success

Adam Stanfield, executive director of the SPCA Florida, said that generally the SPCA shelter is housing about 120 animals at its Lakeland shelter at any one time, although during kitten season the number can go up to as high as 200 animals. An equal number of animals are typically in volunteer foster care  homes, he said.

“Our goal this year was an average of 12 adoptions a day and we surpassed that, averaging 15 animals a day,” Stanfield said.

The goal had been a total of 4,200 animals adopted and, as of late last week, the projected number of adoptions was 4,350, Stanfield said.

“We attribute a lot of that growth to community sponsors helping with fee-waivers at adoption events and promotions,” he said.

The SPCA takes in approximately 6,000 animals a year, according to its website.

The biggest issue animal rescue organizations face is the rapidity of reproduction, especially cats, Stanfield said. A cat can have three liters a year, each of four to six kittens.

To help control the population of homeless cats, the SPCA has operated a community cat program for about a decade. Typically, 2,200 to 2,600 community and feral cats are spayed and neutered during a year, Stanfield said. Most are brought in by the SPCA's trapper, although community members who feed stray cats also can participate by renting SPCA traps and paying a small fee to have their neighborhood strays neutered. The tip of an ear is notched as an indicator that cat will not be reproducing when it is returned to its community.

Stanfield said that the SPCA does not advertise as a no-kill shelter but it now meets all the guidelines of a no-kill facility and uses euthanasia only on occassion for compassionate care and health reasons.

Those numbers have improved dramatically over the past few years. In 2015, the SPCA opened a feline medical isolation area, which allowed the organization to drop the cat euthanasia rate by 75 percent, he said. And in September, a canine medical isolation area opened, so those numbers have dropped, too.

Marilyn Meyer can be reached at marilyn.meyer@theledger.com or 863-802-7558.

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