Animal Lovers Needed to Attend Meeting
 

I am forwarding this information for the awareness of our community. Many Villagers are not aware that our tax dollars support a kill shelter. Sumter County Animal Services is a kill shelter.....not much of a shelter! Your presence at a meeting is important for the commissioners to be aware that people here want this changed! Please pass on this information and attend the meeting.

Here is the message:
"I need help! On August 22, I am speaking in front of the Sumter County Board of Commissioners at 5:00 p.m. at Colony Cottage Recreation Center. The more animal lovers we have in the room will help to make them take us seriously and do something to change the practice. Large numbers speak volumes.

I am going to ask the Sumter County Animal Services to implement several plans that go toward changing Sumter County Animal Services from a high kill to a no kill service. I am going to show them, with their own numbers, how deplorable their numbers are for animals that come into their control.

I want to stop them from killing 33% of the animals that come into their shelter. PLEASE take this request seriously. Please show up for this meeting. I , as well as others work to get pets returned to owners, but we all need your help! We cannot do this alone. You do not have to live in The Villages to attend.

Put it on your calendar....TUESDAY, AUGUST 22 at 5:00 p. m. at
Colony Cottage Receeation Center."

Oren Miloer

Colony Cottage is just off Morse just south of 466A near Colony Plaza. Please attend! Thank you!

Animal Services | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

HOME - Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County, Inc.

The Sumter County Animal Services seems to support The Sumter County Human Society which is a non governmental group...

Could you explain more ABOUT exactly what is bothering your group? Your figures show that 70% are NOT killed but some realistically may be sick or very old........or in some way unadoptable.

In All Due Respect
 

Perhaps those interested parties attending this meeting might want to suggest to the commission that before any human being is allowed to purchase a pet proper vetting needs to occur to ascertain whether that human being is capable, caring and responsible enough to own a pet.

It would seem if a responsible human being discovered a pet missing that they would go to great lengths to find the animal and that of course includes visiting the animal shelter in question.

Given the concern as to the number of animals allegedly killed by this shelter it would appear that not too many owners are making a good faith search effort.

Feral cats dogs, etc are a menace to society.

no comment...

We ARE supporting the Humane Society and THEY ARE supporting us.

The issue is they are killing 32% of dogs and cats every month. If one of YOUR cats gets out and they pick it up.... You have three days to claim it, before it would be killed. Often times they don't even get a photo out in time.

Only three days in Sumter County to find your pet. You better be there EVERY day... AND you can't just go there. You have to go to the Humane Society to have someone take you over to Animal Services.

Because of this situation, if someone finds a pet in Sumter County they will often times drive to Lake county and call that county, who is already a successful No Kill Shelter, to come and get it so it will not be killed.

Because Lake County is getting many of our animals, it does two things. One, you won't know to go to Lake County to find your pet and two, they are handling two counties instead of their one. Therefore... Lake county is ALSO supporting us.

Now... to why WE got involved.

I run Lost Pets of The Villages. If you lose a pet I will do everything in my power to help you get it back, including going to your hood and talking to as many people that I can to get more eyes looking for your pet. I will tell you what has worked in the past for other owners and blast out in social media, calling the radio station and Community Watch. to find your beloved pet.

If you find a pet, I will come to your home and scan the pet, and do everything in my power to find the owner. Including going door to door and driving around the hood to find them, blasting out on social media, calling the radio station and Community Watch.

Because people don't know how to find their pets, I also post on PetHarbor and Craigslist for you as well as letting the appropriate county know about the lost or found pet.

I do this so that YOUR pet doesn't go to Animal Services. I do it as fast as I can, in case your pet is old and needs meds. Understand, if your pet is old and needs meds... that pet will not make it out of Animal Services. So, if you want a cheap way to kill your pet... Don't call me.

Back to my story.

On July 11, 2017, Sumter County sent a change to the SOP that going forward Community Watch was not to call me but to call Animal Services to come and pick up YOUR pet to take to the shelter.

As for Lake and Marion counties, I could still be called, but NOT Sumter. BTW... what county do you live in?

Long story short, I called the county and requested a change. I came up with several solutions for a fighting chance to save our pets and all were rejected.

Now, we will continue the process of changing our Animal Services to a No Kill Shelter.

This is an elderly community. People do not know how to look for their pets. Some don't have the means to travel to the shelter, and why should they if I can get the pet back?

As the "number of animals allegedly killed by this shelter". Those number are THEIR numbers. Although,I'm told they are not correct. Since there is no transparency, there is no way to know.

A No Kill shelter will help keep the Feral cats down, buy doing a TNR, Trap Neuter and release, which doesn't appear we have in this County. We need the feral cats to keep the rats and mice down. Many cities ie. New York are using them for just that purpose.

In the almost two years that I have been doing this, I have learned that the dog or cat that you think is a mongrel... is oftentimes someone's beloved pet.

I do not get any money for this. I do it because I care.

For all of those who are supporting us in this effort, THANK YOU

Angie Fox
Lost Pets of The Villages
815-370-9115

Please be aware that you do not have to be a pet owner to attend this meeting.
If you simply "like" pets or even care about our community, you should attend this meeting.

Please show your support and be there!

I am trying to understand. It sounds like the point of friction is that the government agency didn't call a private individual rather than the Humane Society. I understand your intense caring but can you or your group realistically change the way things are done?

In trying to understand this issue I came across this piece. In the comments some feel that in certain cases Euthanasia is sometimes more Humane than how an animal must live. Here is the article;

Michigan Humane Society under fire over kill rates; two board members resign

If they would call the Humane Society, that would be wonderful. However, that's not the case. They instead call Animal Services which is High Kill.

You don't need to understand it. Just know that I will do everything I can to save your pets, even if you won't for someone else.

The point of friction is that a lot of animals are being killed instead of finding their owners, foster families, or someone to adopt them. The article you posted is from 2011 and people have become more aware of "kill shelters" and how quickly animals are euthanized. Go the Sumter County Animal Services Site and look for yourself at the dogs & cats that are listed as "time sensitive" (which means they are about to be euthanized) and they are not old and sick. They are kittens and young dogs that are ready to be adopted but are available for only a short time. Read the comments on their FB page (which has not been update in two years) from frustrated people that tried to adopt a dog but you cannot go to the shelter directly but rather have to get someone at another location to take you there. So not only is it a kill shelter but they do not make it easy for people to adopt. Maybe you see nothing wrong with healthy dogs and cats being killed every day but I do. Hopefully we can get Sumter County Animal Services to become a no-kill shelter.

I will be at the meeting for sure. I applaud Angie and Oren and their host of helpers that are actually out there "doing something". It's easy for the rest of us to sit in our cozy chairs and question their tactics and reasoning. If one of my pets ever got out, I'd be thanking God we have these angels around and their procedures and plans in place. In the meantime, till I can go out and be of help searching and talking to people, I will certainly attend any meeting they ask me to. One persons pet prematurely killed is one too many for me.

I hope you understand that I am trying to figure out if this outcry can change things. Has this kind of tactic worked in other areas? I am certainly not doubting that things can be improved. People being angry at meetings rarely effect change.

And I do love animals. They are members of our family and I do understand being terribly frightened if they should go missing.

We can only give it a try. To do nothing would be sad and lazy. I will go for all the poor animals that just get "put to sleep" because it's easier.

I understand your anguish. I just read this from Peta. I would be at a meeting that was for raising money for neutering.

The Deadly Consequences of 'No-Kill' Policies | PETA

If you REALLY did your homework, you would know that is what No Kill does.

*sigh*

And yes...No Kill works. It works in Gainsville, It works in Jacksonville, and it works in Lake County.

Please take a minute and read what people have responded to you.

And what do you mean by "snowflake"?

angiefox: I admire what you do and I admire you for your concern. I too am against animal cruelty.

However the narrative that you share leaves me with the impression that the supply of pets exceeds demands and the situation is getting out of hand. To wit you state the shelter is killing 32% of animals a month. You state that an owner has only 3 days to claim their pet.

It seems doubtful that people who work at animal shelters euthanize pets just for the kick of it. it would seem that they have a bona fide purpose for doing so.

Love cause people to lose objectivity whether its children or animals . Parents/owners expectations of what should be tolerated vis a vis others is incongruent

Perhaps there is a compromise and by your tone of concern and your interest I'll wager you will find one.

Personal Best Regards: