Animals dying at no-kill shelter

Our Broward County Shelter animals are still in crisis due to the continued lack of qualified leadership. Unfortunately, the community’s ongoing concerns continue to be ignored by our Broward County Commissioners. The shelter has been in leadership turmoil for the past eight years, since the community was promised to become no kill. Due to the pandemic, the shelter closed to the public in March. To date, the shelter still remains closed to volunteers and the public, while other shelters are opening. During March and April while closed, under the authority of the interim shelter director, 193 dogs and cats were killed, are missing or died, the vast majority without rescue bulletins. Meanwhile, due to the closure, the shelter has seen a dramatic decrease in intake; intake in April 2020 reduced more than 60% over April 2019. When will the shelter implement true no-kill strategies?

In December 2018, Best Friends Society outlined the shelter deficiencies and advised on corrective action. County Auditor Bob Melton outlined the shelter’s critical deficiencies in his recent interim report while the full audit is still in process, and he provided steps for remedial action. The shelter has not corrected any of these deficiencies, which are causing continued neglect, suffering and abuse of the shelter animals. When will the shelter animals be cared for the way they deserve to be? Immediate reopening and restructuring is imperative in order for our shelter to achieve true no kill — where every treatable, trainable and adoptable animal has a positive outcome.

Sloan P. Cowart, Dania Beach