More than 100 people from Lost Pets of The Villages pressed Sumter County commissioners Tuesday to change its animal shelter to a no-kill shelter.
Angie Fox, who leads the group’s efforts to rescue lost pets and return them to their owners, said the county’s 30 percent kill rate of shelter animals is higher than other communities.
“We want to work with you to make our shelters better,” she told the commissioners. “The only people who think that the system is working are you.”
County officials say animal services have improved since the county became partners with the Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County more than two years ago.
“I don’t want the board or the public to diminish the staff,” said County Administrator Bradley Arnold. “They take a lot of pride in our kennel operation.”
Arnold said the humane society handled over 1,100 animal adoptions over the past year.
Last month, 89 animals, including 38 dogs, 50 cats and an unspecified animal, were euthanized at the county shelter and 120 were transferred to the humane society, according to the latest animal services report. Four animals died in the kennel.
Oren Miller, Fox’s husband, said Sumter County’s practices do not measure up to other Florida communities.
He said 91 percent of the dogs and cats in the Jacksonville shelter are saved and the same percentage of 8,000 dogs and cats in the Lake County shelter also are saved.
Miller said his wife responds 24 hours a day to try to find lost pets. She carries a scanner to read identification chips and gets referrals from The Villages Community Development District and the community’s radio station.
Katherine Hardy said she adopted a severely under-weight, red tabby cat from a no-kill shelter in Maryland before moving to The Villages a year ago. She named the cat Chipper because of his resilience.
“In a no-kill shelter, he was given a chance,” she said. “Here, he would have been put to sleep.”
Unfortunately, Hardy said, the cat later escaped her Villages home and hasn’t been found.
After hearing the speakers, commissioners didn’t seem ready to endorse the no-kill concept.
County Board Chairman Doug Gilpin told the crowd that the county’s animal services have been reviewed favorably by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
“They told us we’re doing the appropriate thing,” he said. “We’re following all of the state statutes.”
Gilpin said many animals the county receives are sick or mistreated, adding that not enough owners are prosecuted for mistreating animals.
