(FROM THE ORLANDO SENTINEL by KEITH KOHN)
Compounded by more than 300 new arrivals from two major dog rescues since May 26, Polk County's animal shelter had reached a crisis stage Thursday with more than twice the number of animals than space allowed. That's when the Sheriff's Office put out a call for rescue groups and others to help ease the overcrowding.
The Sheriff's Office, which runs the county's pound, even cut the cost to adopt a pet to $5.
The moves seem to have worked.
Thursday and Friday, several pet-rescue groups from as far as Tallahassee and Naples, came out to rescue the rescuers. And by Friday, the Sheriff's Office put out the all clear: there were no more dogs available for adoption, and won't be for about a week.
"It was like ' Black Friday' the day after Thanksgiving," Sheriff Grady Judd said Friday in a news release after the public's response to the reduced fees and Thursday's call for help. "We are ever so grateful to the public for their undying support and for coming to adopt the many healthy dogs and cats here at Animal Control. The dogs and cats you adopted today are lives that you saved."
Thursday, 44 dogs were adopted or transferred from the pound. Friday, another 40 went out the doors to either new families, rescue groups or lost pets to their owners.
Several groups sent representatives to pick up dogs, including:
•Coastal Boxer Rescue of Florida, Melbourne
SPCA of Lakeland
Dachshund Awareness Rescue and Education, or DARE, Tallahassee
Golden Retriever Rescue of Southwest Florida, Naples
Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue, and its St. Cloud affiliate Florida Little Dog Rescue
Heidi's Legacy, Hillsborough County, in conjunction with Lost Wolf Rescue, Pinellas County
Animal Rescue Konsortium, or ARK, Deland
Gulf Coast Humane Society, Fort Myers
Florida Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Brooksville
SPCA Of Central Florida
Broward County Humane Society
Residents, businesses and rescue groups also donated food, shampoo, towels and medical supplies.
Meantime, about 100 new animals come into the shelter daily: strays, abandoned pets and bite cases.
May 26 and 27, Animal Services workers and deputies seized 261 dogs, many of them puppies, from the home of Charles "Chuck" O'Malley, 54, and Diana O'Malley, 52, of Polk City. They face hundreds of animal-neglect charges. They could not be reached for comment, but supporters say the seizure was overzealous. Authorities say little food or water was available for the dogs, which were kept in every room and closet in the house. It was the largest such seizure ever in the county.
On Thursday, another 62 dogs were seized from the Haines City home of James Lynn Odom, 55, who surrendered most to the county. He faces 49 civil counts of failing to purchase dog licenses and numerous animal-cruelty counts.
For information about pets becoming available daily for adoption, check out http://www.polkpets.org or call 1-863-499-2600. The Animal Control shelter is at 7115 De Castro Road, Winter Haven.
Keith W. Kohn can be reached at kkohn@orlandosentinel.com
(RSQ recommends checking out Keith Kohn's informative and potentially-lifesaving blog at: http://cancervivor.blogspot.com. For updates on the Polk County animal shelter crisis, please go to www.OrlandoSentinel.com )
