One of the great perks of working for a pet-related website, is that you can walk into an animal shelter, say where you are from, and people treat you like gold. The Florida Keys SPCA staff practically threw gold dust at my feet even though I arrived five minutes before they closed. Of course, everyone in Key West was wonderful--even the taxi driver who dropped me off and somehow magically showed up at the very second my half-hour tour with Matt ended.
Key West of course got walloped by Hurricane Wilma and could be in a storm path at any time. They showed me how high the water reached in their facility, and explained their evacuation plan for Wilma, and future storms.
Spay/neuter for pit bulls and feral cats is free. Oh, how I wish we had that here! And they have a very low-cost spay/neuter program for other pets.
Like most shelters, their facility could use a face-lift, and they are hoping to build a new shelter in the future.
They jokingly offered to bundle a little senior chihuahua up into a soft-sided crate that would fit under the seat in my plane. :) Or a hamster or two. I managed to resist.
The cats have an air-conditioned room, and screened cat porches where they can lounge or stare (and try to chase) passing birds and chickens. Their cat and dog intake is lower than my area. Most dogs are returned to their owners. But they have the huge additional challenge of "stray" iguanas and chickens. Not to mention the looming presence of storms.
Sally was happy to show off for me.
I promised to send them some grant resources, and I need to get on that.
They had a big handsome black pittie with white paws who was reaching out to me between the gap where his door met the frame. There are far too many sweet pit bulls in the world who need homes!
1 comment:
Welcome back! I am a longtime lurker (starting with your old blog). Just wanted to tell you I appreciate what you've done, what you DO, and it was nice to put a face to your blogging!
Take care! From a momma of 8 rescued feline furbabies :)
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