Becky Bywater, who volunteers with Polk County Bully Project, shared a heartbreaking reality about the calls they receive:
โApproximately 50% of those calls start or end with the words, โI need to surrender.โ The reasons varyโdeath, illness, divorce, movingโbut they all point to people in crisis.
Yesterday, a young woman called crying. Her husband had gotten drunk and beat her and her children. She was desperate.”
She knew that taking her beloved pet to Polk County Animal Control could mean his final days.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐?
This is what failure looks like.
Not just of a systemโbut of leadership.
When families are in crisis, they should be met with supportโnot a system that puts their animals at risk.
This is preventable.
And the responsibility is not abstractโit has names.