{"id":57812,"date":"2025-09-04T19:18:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T23:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=57812"},"modified":"2025-09-04T19:18:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T23:18:29","slug":"i-know-its-hard-to-believe-but-we-cant-make-this-stuff-up-as-the-sheriff-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2025\/09\/04\/i-know-its-hard-to-believe-but-we-cant-make-this-stuff-up-as-the-sheriff-says\/","title":{"rendered":"I know it&#8217;s hard to believe, but we can&#8217;t make this stuff up as the Sheriff says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the first 6 months of 2025, Polk County Animal Control KILLED 647 dogs, 1652 cats, and 253 other animals. 2552 HEALTHY, ADOPTABLE ANIMALS were killed due to poor\u00a0management, poor programs, poor vet care, poor networking, and poor policies. Yet they continue to blame &#8220;irresponsible citizens&#8221; and refuse to offer alternatives or initiatives to help stop the mass killing. 425 animals per month.<\/p>\n\n\n        \n        <div class=\"embedpress-gutenberg-wrapper source-provider-Youtube aligncenter ep-clear   ep-content-protection-disabled inline\" id=\"bb2da19f-d175-4c21-9a9a-705ec8fd42cf\" data-embed-type=\"Youtube \">\n            <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper \">\n                <div id=\"ep-gutenberg-content-25afc8d9a66405669b5ea636f76a59fc\" class=\"ep-gutenberg-content\">\n                    <div >\n                        <div class=\"ep-embed-content-wraper preset-default insta-grid ep-google-photos-carousel\"\n                            style=\"max-width:600px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\"                                                                                                                >\n\n                            <div class=\"ose-youtube ose-uid-ba61312aef11950d765ef9fb0a121311 ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:600px; max-height:600px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" title=\"I know it&#039;s hard to believe, but we can&#039;t make this stuff up, as the Sheriff says.\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Pr8z7q_fF18?feature=oembed&#038;color=red&#038;rel=0&#038;controls=1&#038;start=&#038;end=&#038;fs=0&#038;iv_load_policy=0&#038;autoplay=0&#038;mute=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;cc_load_policy=1&#038;playsinline=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen title=\"I know it&#8217;s hard to believe, but we can&#8217;t make this stuff up as the Sheriff says\"><\/iframe><\/div>                        <\/div>\n\n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    \n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now we are notified that they have shut down the Volunteer Program at the Shelter due to &#8220;the woman who ran it quit&#8221;. The few Volunteers they had are now unable to walk the dogs or socialize the cats with the little time they had before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you, as a taxpayer, OK with how this &#8220;Shelter&#8221; is managed? Please help by emailing your Commissioners and the Sheriff. Tell them it is not acceptable and our homeless animals deserve better. Remind them that they are elected officials and, as such, they work for the taxpayers. Please be a voice for the voiceless who are dying at a rate of 15 PER DAY. We need ordinance change, spay\/neuter vouchers, an animal advisory board, tethering and animal housing laws, breeder laws, and an outreach department to bring in volunteers and rescue help.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-dominant-color=\"524e4a\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #524e4a;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/breedingignorance-3-1.webp?resize=620%2C413&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-57813 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/breedingignorance-3-1.webp?w=620&amp;ssl=1 620w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/breedingignorance-3-1.webp?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We totally agree with the Sheriff. You cannot make this up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polk-county.net\/...\/board-of-county...\">https:\/\/www.polk-county.net\/&#8230;\/board-of-county&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Board of County Commissioners is the governing body of Polk County, as established by the Florida Constitution, and serves as the legislative branch of county government, as defined in the county charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The authorities and responsibilities of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adopting ordinances and resolutions to establish public policy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Levying authorized taxes and fees<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planning and adopting a budget each fiscal year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appointing a chair and vice chair at the annual organizational meeting in November<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Providing county services and infrastructure, including determining the amount and sources of funding for each<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appointing, supervising, and removing the county manager and county attorney<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Approving expenditures of county funds<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Entering into contracts and agreements<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appointing individuals to serve on various boards and committees established by state law, or by the Board of County Commissioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/animaldefendersofpolkcounty?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#AnimalDefendersofPolkCounty<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/euthanasiaisnotpopulationcontrol?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#euthanasiaisnotpopulationcontrol<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/stopthekillingofcatsanddogs?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#stopthekillingofcatsanddogs<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/polkcountyboardofcountycommissioners?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#polkcountyboardofcountycommissioners<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/cantmakethisup?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#cantmakethisup<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/sheriffgradyjudd?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#SheriffGradyJudd<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/billbraswell?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#billbraswell<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/hashtag\/voiceforthevoiceless?__eep__=6%2F&amp;__tn__=*NK\">#voiceforthevoiceless<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the first 6 months of 2025, Polk County Animal Control KILLED 647 dogs, 1652 cats, and 253 other animals. 2552 HEALTHY, ADOPTABLE ANIMALS were killed due to poor\u00a0management, poor&hellip; 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