Marion County Animal Services is updating its fee structure to accommodate rising costs for animal care, control and shelter supplies, effective Oct. 1, 2014. The new fee schedule includes increases in adoption fees (from $40 to $50 for dogs and cats) and sterilization fees (from $40 to $50 if the surgery is done at the Animal Center or $75 if the surgery is done on the Neuter Commuter). New fees include trap rentals ($15 per week) and owner surrenders ($10, or $25 for exotic pets surrendered without cage). For a complete list of fees, visit www.MarionCountyFL.org/animal.
Marion County Animal Services provides both animal shelter and animal control functions. The Animal Center is the county’s only open-admission shelter. That means the department accepts any Marion animal that comes to its doors, regardless of breed, temperament, health or how desirable that animal might be to some people. The center receives animals that were abused and abandoned, strays brought in by residents or animal control officers, and pets surrendered by their owners because they couldn’t or didn’t want to care for them anymore.
Last year, the Animal Center received more than 10,000 animals, including cats, dogs, pocket pets, horses and other livestock. Animal Services staff provided low-cost spay/neuter surgeries to more than 6,000 animals, helping to reduce pet overpopulation and ensuring that more shelter pets find homes. Animal control officers responded to more than 10,000 cases with nearly 11,000 follow-up visits in fiscal year 12-13. These calls included animal cruelty, abandoned animals, strays and dangerous dog cases. For more information, call 352-671-8700 or email animalservices@marioncountyfl.org.
