Statistics from Polk County Animal Control -

“Shelter” – A place giving temporary protection; to protect or shield from something harmful

Here are the statistics from Polk County Animal Control -Florida for the first 10 months of 2024. They continue to be anything but a “shelter” for Polk County animals.

484 dogs and cats died while housed at the “shelter”

489 dogs and cats escaped while housed at the “shelter”

1,408 dogs and cats out of 12,119 that entered the “shelter” were reunited with their owners (about 11.5%)

9,748 dogs and cats were brought into the “shelter” as stray (this can be by the public or thru the Animal Control Officers)

4,567 dogs and cats were euthanized while in the care of the “shelter”

These statistics show that 66% of dogs entering the “shelter” get out alive and 51% of cats entering the “shelter” get out alive. Just a note that to be considered a no-kill shelter, you must achieve at least a 90% live release rate combined. Polk County Animal Control -Florida continues to have a combined live release rate of about 58%. 32% below the minimum to be considered a No Kill Shelter.

One sad note from the October monthly stats is that 590 cats entered the “shelter” as stray or confiscated, yet only 11 cats were reunited with their owner. This says (1) people are not looking for their lost cats (2) the cost to retrieve your cat from Animal Control is too prohibitive (3) little effort is being made to find the owners (4) a large majority of these cats are Street Cats with no owner of record.

We did have two major hurricanes in October, so some people may have been displaced and too compromised to retrieve their animals. But we must avoid defaulting on killing “shelter” animals. We need more funds for Polk County Animal Control -Florida to allow a more proactive “sheltering” model where killing is not an option. We need an Animal Welfare Leader to focus on the animals and not on a myriad of other things. We need a county-wide low-cost spay/neuter program. We need a county-funded TNR program. WE NEED CHANGE!!!

Please contact the Board of County Commissioners of Polk County and tell them we need change now. Thousands of Animals lives depend on it.