What are we missing here?
1.) Starvation, inflation of pet food prices Foodbank at SPCA for low income, need more food for low-income and fixed income, no food for rescues and colony caregivers
2.) Overpopulation, homeless cat colonies all over, dog breeding, no access to affordable spay and neuter
3.) No place to safely surrender an animal other than a high-kill shelter, no-kill shelters and rescues are full, of abandonment, animals living in cars, and homeless camps
4.) Not enough adoption opportunities – saturated adoption pool in Polk, no consistent adoption networking outside of Polk, no vetting help to rescues
5.) Ineffective ordinances – unchecked breeding and dogfighting, laws that interfere with helping animals
6.) No vaccine program – contracting preventable diseases, panleukopenia in cats, parvo in dogs, rabies cases in pets
7.) Minimal help for pet retention – no microchipping law, harsh penalties for picking up animals from Animal Control, few behavioral classes
8.) Lack of access to affordable veterinary care and spay and neuter, pricing compared to surrounding counties
9.) No angel fund for emergency care – veterinary care is increasingly more expensive and becoming unmanageable
10.) Unnecessary death of healthy animals for space, euthanasia at Polk County Animal Control, number one kill shelter
By G Robert Weedon Vet – As I read this, I believe that we need to divide the list of problems into two categories: 1) Community-focused problems, and 2) Problems directly related to Polk County Animal Control and its operation.
The way I see it, on the list, #s 1, 2, 6, 8, and 9, are community-focused, whereas #s 3, 4, 5, 7, and 10, can be directly attributed to Polk County Animal Control.
Of course, there is some overlap where efforts would need to be addressed in both the community-focused programs and at Polk County Animal Control.
For instance, #4 not enough adoption opportunities, could be remedied by changes at Polk County Animal Control, as well as public-private partnerships with private shelters and rescue organizations.
You’ve heard the saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” Well, I believe that this is apropos here. Changes on both sides of the equation will ultimately lead to a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts—expanded adoption opportunities which will lead to more animals leaving Polk County Animal Control and ending up in furever homes. In this case, synergy is a wonderful thing, but it is going to take changes on both sides of the equation.
I think the question, “What are the problems in Polk County animal welfare?” bridges that divide, but in order to address them, we need to look at both community-focused programs, as well as changes at Polk County Animal Control.
Of course, some solutions will necessitate changes on both sides of the equation. In a previous posting, there was a discussion regarding obtaining grant funding. This, I think, will be necessary, and will help, with the community-focused side of the equation. The changes necessary at Polk County Animal Control will require funding from the county.
This will likely be a tough sell, so we need to focus on what is necessary, and why, to justify the cost of those changes.
Editorial Comments
The thing is there’s already been a lot of talk. There’s already been a lot of intervention.
Dr. Weeden actually spoke to the commissioners in 2023, and he followed up with a letter to each one and received no response. The biggest problem in this situation is Grady Judd, although you can see what we’re doing on social media is making an impact.
The commissioners were ready to agree to a deal in 2023, but he wouldn’t. So we can keep trying to make changes at Animal Control, but we can’t depend on it.
Meanwhile, our animals suffer.
So the thought is trying to do things independent of Animal Control to support the community efforts to help our animals and going to the commissioners and asking for help with our community animal efforts.
In order to cut down on over packed facilities at animal shelters maybe it would help if shelters could have agree and neuter program. People sign up for it and take say 10 names a day. Go down the list. Of course they will need to complete information down. Name address phone and sex of animal. It wld be like a waiting list but eventually it will cut down over population of animals. You have to help us in order to cut the animal population down. Free spay, neuter, chip and shot program. Maybe even free adoption. Many pet owners would have their pets fixed and all if they had money to go through with it. So many pet owners are either not working or on fixed incomes.