Becky Bywater, who volunteers with Polk County Bully Project, shared a heartbreaking reality about the calls they receive:
“Approximately 50% of those calls start or end with the words, ‘I need to surrender.’ The reasons vary—death, illness, divorce, moving—but 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.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁?
This is what failure looks like.
Not just of a system—but of leadership.
When families are in crisis, they should be met with support—not a system that puts their animals at risk.
This is preventable.
And the responsibility is not abstract—it has names.