LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Michelle Middleton loves animals, and she says she knew volunteering at the Lee County Domestic Animal Shelter would be difficult.
"Their little faces haunt us at night, so I'm there because I do give the dogs a lot of love," Middleton says.
She's part of the local group Animal Justice.
During Middleton's time at the shelter, she says she and other volunteers saw things that concerned them.
For example, how often dogs get out of their kennel to use the bathroom.
She gave Lee County Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades a stack of papers that she says is how volunteers tracked how often the dogs are let outside of their kennels.
It shows most dogs are let out once every 23 or 24 hours and in some cases, once in 25 hours.
Middleton says, "Due to a lack of staff members and volunteers, the dogs have to relieve themselves in their kennels and then be stuck there for sometimes almost an entire day before someone's able to clean it."
Watch Lee County Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades report below:
She says the volunteers' felt like the shelter wasn't listening to their concerns.
Rhoades spoke with Lee County Assistant Manager Marc Mora.
"The goal is to have them outside as much as we possibly can," Mora said.
Rhoades asked, "Does it sound very fair to only go out once in 23 hours? Would you want that for your dog?"
Mora said, "Well, of course not. I mean, nobody wants that."
Rhoades asked the county for a specific policy on how often dogs should be taken outside of their kennel.
A Lee County spokesperson said there's no policy, and in a statement said,
"As a point of information, Lee County Domestic Animal Service endeavors to provide the dogs in its care with time outside. This time is impacted by many factors, including staffing and inclement weather."
"You're gonna find that not everything that they do, there is a written policy. It's just basic common sense," Mora said.
Rhoades contacted other local shelters and a national shelter organization, and none of them could provide a policy on how often dogs should be taken outside.
Animal Justice says it'll keep fighting to improve Lee County shelter conditions.
Earlier this month, Lee County said LCDAS met with people to hear their concerns.
The county provided this list of improvements and adjustments for the shelter:
- Low-cost voucher program for spay/neuter is being finalized with area veterinarians to assist Lee County residents with the sterilization of cats.
- A survey of rescue partner organizations to assess LCDAS’ working relationship with them was conducted, and it has yielded positive responses.
- We have reconfigured the outdoor play yards so that multiple dogs can exercise and play simultaneously.
- A backup generator has been added so that in the case of a power outage the shelter can run as needed for the animal’s well-being indoors.
- Our monthly vaccine and microchipping clinic has become a great success offering support for community pet owners in areas across Lee County.
- Microchipping is offered for $10 on Monday through Friday in the clinic at LCDAS.
- A wall has been installed within the shelter to create a kennel area that can be used as quarantine in emergency situations but also offers a quieter area for staff to work with nervous dogs.
- We have updated the adoption lobby to become more inviting and open to adopters.
- A rescue portal has been added to our system that allows rescues to directly see the dogs that are in need of assistance. They are able to place holds on these dogs without the hassle of e-mails and phone calls, which has expedited the process.
"It's not just about, you know, saving the dogs and cats. It is a real community public safety issue," Middleton says.
The group plans to go to the Lee County Commissioners meeting Tuesday to address these concerns and the number of animals euthanized in the county as well.
