Florida is progressing, but still has a long road to travel

When Manatee County Animal Services first announced their plan to go no-kill, many in this area shook their heads in disbelief. The economy is down, budgets were being slashed, people were out of work and could barely afford to eat, much less worry with the homeless animal population in the county. Manatee County also has a large rural area, where stray dogs and cats are dumped on a regular basis. This past week, they proved all their naysayers wrong.
Collier County commissioners announced last night a 10 project plan to decrease euthanasia in that county and Sarasota County has asked for the plan Manatee County is using to go no-kill.
So despite the gloom and doom forecast on a daily basis, we are progressing.
We are progressing because the people in these areas are demanding no less. All counties in Florida must report their euthanasia rates to the state from each agency on a monthly basis. According to all I can find, these numbers are going down. There is more attention paid to programs like spay/neuter, TNR, microchipping and (thanks to the dedication of the police and sheriff departments), law enforcement of animal cruelty and neglect plus watching for illegal dog and cockfights, we should all be proud of our counties.
Can more be done? Absolutely. We used to say in the shelter world, "Put us out of business. We would love to be able to shut our doors because there is no longer a homeless pet problem." That has not happened yet. Maybe it will be twenty more years, maybe not, but the euthanasia rate for the country has been cut in half in the last 20 years.
The key to continue having falling euthanasia rates, is remaining vigilant and continuing to educate people on those programs I mentioned above.
So, put your feet on the floor and get busy. We still have lots of work to do.

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