LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — "I see a lot of dogs running around roaming. Unfortunately, sometimes I see dogs dead on the street. I see a lot of cats," Lehigh Acres resident Tammy Pankou says.
She shared with Fox 4's Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades photos and videos of all the strays she's seen roaming her neighborhood.
Even more photos and videos with information on lost pets and strays flood the Lehigh Acres Community Bulletin Facebook group.
"There's so many people in Lehigh who are trying to help. I see it. I see it all over the Facebook group," Pankou said. "They're trying to catch the dogs and help, but there are people in Lehigh who are not being responsible. They're just letting their dogs go."
When a pregnant cat came up to her door, Pankou says she didn't have the heart to say no. She chose not to take the cat to Lee County Domestic Animals Services because she feared for the cat's safety.
She called other local rescues who all told her the same thing.
"There's no more room in the inn, nowhere right now, and there needs to be more places," Pankou shares.
She's worried about the strays, but also her family's safety. She says it's one of the reason they want to move out of Lehigh.
Find Lee County's ordinance on strays here.
"I can't even walk in my neighborhood," Pankou says after strays bit both her son and small dog.
Lee County ordinance requires owners to leash their dogs.
Maranda Wyatt, who Rhoades spoke to in January, rescues strays and says it's gotten worse.
"Off leash. Everywhere all the time. Every day, every second, and then they wonder why their dog went missing," Wyatt said.
She doesn't recommend dropping pets off at Lee County Animal Services. She even refuses to call their services a shelter.
"They're not a shelter. If you take an animal there, it's not safe," Wyatt said.
Lee County tells Fox 4 when it comes to strays, responsibility falls on the community and county.
"Lee County Domestic Animal Services' shelter continues to experience a high intake rate of healthy animals due to the county's population growth, economic stress on pet owners, and housing market restrictions...As LCDAS is charged with enforcing Lee County's ordinance, we do not have a set capacity number. LCDAS works with many partnering rescue organizations and has a robust fostering program, both is which help staff manage shelter populations."
That's not the answer Wyatt and Pankou want to hear.
"We need to have a facility the community can trust," Wyatt says.
Find more information on Lee County Domestic Animal Services here.
