How Polk County Handled 748 Animals in One Week

Sheriff Grady Judd and his deputies took 261 dogs into custody on May 27, from a rescue-turned-hoarder situation. The animal control facility hadn't been empty, and they weren't prepared for this many intakes at once. But the community came together, with donations of food, towels, shampoo, and volunteers to help bathe and care for the dogs. Six days later, the shelter was slammed with another 62 dogs from a different cruelty case.

The Animal Control facility in Polk County, Florida, was designed for 375 animals. Suddenly, the shelter had 748 animals in its care.

Sheriff Judd didn't take the easy way out. He could have euthanized animals that weren't tied up in the legal system, in order to make the population a little more manageable. Instead, he reached out to the public, thought outside the box, and showed us what's possible when a community is committed to helping its animals in need.

On Thursday, Sheriff Judd put out a plea to rescue organizations. Rescue groups showed up from all over the state to take dogs, plus 18 went to a shelter in Broward County and another dozen to the Orange County SPCA. He temporarily dropped the adoption fee to $5 and extended the hours of operation. While the cruelty case dogs were getting all the attention, there were already dogs and cats who needed homes. The response was overwhelming. "It was like Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving," said Sheriff Grady.

But they're not even close to being out of the woods. About 100 animals come into the shelter every day; many of those will be put up for adoption and will need move quickly as the shelter continues to care for the hundreds of dogs caught up court cases. It's no easy feat to manage an overflowing shelter.

Sheriff Grady got creative there, too. In addition to the outpouring of volunteers from the community, he enlisted non-violent jail inmates to help out. The shelter already had a work program in place, which has saved the county an estimated $250,000 in labor each year. With more animals, they needed more help, and the inmates were willing volunteers. Cornelius Williams said, "I get away from the jail, you know, and I get to do something that I like to do anyway." 

Williams and the inmates get something else out of the deal, too. When they complete their sentence, they get to adopt an animal. Williams has already picked out a corgi named Watson. They'll be released on the same day to start to their new life together.

On Friday, Animal Control announced that they had run out of adoptable animals. The sheriff expressed his gratitude to the public for their support. "The dogs and cats you adopted today are lives that you saved."

Imagine if this kind of cooperation and innovation happened every day, at every shelter, in every community.

If you're interested in helping out Polk County or adopting an animal, check out their website, where animals will be listed as they become available for adoption.

Photo credit: FEMA Photo Library