Manatee County Animal Shelters Near Capacity, Trend ‘Concerning’: MCAS

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — The number of animals taken in by Manatee County Animal Services in May was up 15 percent over the same time in 2021.

Last month, 445 animals were brought into county animal shelters, compared to 182 in January, 217 in February, 325 in March and 292 in April, Hans Wohlgefahrt, MCAS outreach and events specialist, told Patch.

“It’s really concerning, that’s my honest answer, to see our numbers,” he said. “We always see an increase in intake in our summer months, but this is really early in the summer, and we have a long haul to get through kitten season.”

These numbers show no signs of slowing, with more than 20 animals taken in on each of the first two days of June, he added.

And Manatee County Animal Services is one of the only open-admission shelters in the county – meaning that under the county charter, the agency is mandated to take in strays, no matter what the capacity is.

“Even if we don’t have the space, that means we have to figure it out,” Wohlgefahrt said.

As shelters reach capacity, it’s another story for residents in positions where they need to give up their pets, he warned. “We simply don’t have the space for owner surrenders.”

Animal Services operates three facilities: the Bishop Animal Shelter at 5718 21st Ave. W. in Bradenton, Cat Town at 216 6th Ave. E. in Bradenton and Palmetto Animal Services at 305 25th Street W. in Palmetto.

As of Thursday, there are 272 animals in the county’s care at these locations.

The Palmetto facility serves as the primary dog adoption center. With 80 kennels, 78 were full Thursday. Meanwhile, Cat Town has 27 cats currently.

The Bishop facility, which was donated to the county in March, serves as the medical and intake center. As of Thursday, there were 52 dogs, 114 cats and one rabbit there.

The shelters always see an uptick in intake numbers every summer with an increase in mother cats and kittens. This year there are other factors involved “with economic hardship, like people with housing difficulties, those types of things,” Wohlgefahrt said. “I think the financial and the housing issues are really a problem for people. Some situations we’ve seen have been really heartbreaking, people showing up to the shelter and they don’t have a place to sleep at night.”

Animal Services does what it can to work with pet owners facing financial difficulties, offering a year-round pet food program to provide the supplies they need to keep their furry friends in their home, he said. The agency also has a network of nonprofit animal organizations they can refer people to for assistance.

“They step in to find a solution, somehow,” Wohlgefahrt said. “Sometimes it’s a patchwork solution for people who need to house their dog for maybe a little bit. We want to keep pets out of shelters. Right now, as we’re reaching these really high numbers, what we’re trying to do is give people resources — other rescues, ways to rehome their pet son their own, even obvious things, like reaching out to family and friends to see if they can take in a pet for a bit.”

He also encourages anyone looking to bring home a pet to adopt one from the county shelters. To make adopting more accessible, the county has dropped the adoption fee to just $15 for all animals starting Friday through the end of June.

There are other special adoption fees available, as well, including reduced fees for pets who have been at the shelter for more than 60 days or who are older than 7 and no fees for members of the military, veterans and first responders with IDs.

Animal Services is also seeking fosters, especially during kitten season. While some kittens come in with their mothers, who largely look after the babies, some have been separated from their families or are abandoned and need to be bottle fed hourly, Wohlgefahrt said.

“Fosters are important. (These kittens) need a lot of attention and it socializes them so they’re ready for adoption,” he said. “To encourage fostering, we provide all the supplies that a person needs. We don’t want them to dig into their pocketbook.”

For those who take in a full litter, MCAS provides a cat condo — wheeled cages with two tiers for the mother and her kittens — making it easier for foster homes to care for them.

Volunteers are always needed at county facilities, as well. Animal Services recently launched two new volunteer programs — a nursery care team that focuses solely on kittens and a medical unit

“There are so many kittens right now and on a daily basis we’re dealing with pets being hit by cars, that have trauma of some type, and we’re getting into summer heat exposure and that kind of stuff,” Wohlgefahrt said. “We’re hoping those two programs will help us out these upcoming difficult months.”

Those interested in supporting the department can also purchase needed items from the Amazon Wish list compiled by the Friends of Manatee County Animal Services.