POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Animal advocates argue that changes are needed at Polk County Animal Control, as evidenced by the shelter’s 2024 statistics.
According to records from the University of Florida’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, the county shelter’s “Live Outcome Rate” was 58% in 2024, which means 42% of animals did not leave the county shelter alive.
However, that wasn’t the 2024 statistic that raised the biggest red flag.
In 2024, 401 dogs and cats combined died in the shelter for reasons not related to euthanasia.
Additionally, 564 animals escaped from the shelter. The vast majority of those escapees were cats.
When you look around the state, those numbers are higher than in many other counties.
Hillsborough County’s shelter takes in a similar number of animals compared to Polk County, but in 2024, almost 200 fewer animals died in Hillsborough County’s care, and only three animals escaped in total.
Orange County also takes in a similar number of animals, but in 2024, only 145 animals died in Orange County’s care, and just five escaped.
Though Miami-Dade County takes in more than double the number of cats and dogs compared to Polk County, it has a smaller number of dogs and cats that died or were lost while in care.
According to the Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters, which is published by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, “One or more shelter animals dying in care can be a signal to assess management practices. Increases in deaths or infections over time may indicate deficiencies in population management practices, such as operating beyond a shelter’s capacity for care, lapses in preventive care protocols, or the need for targeted interventions.”
Dr. Bob Weedon, a veterinary surgeon in Lakeland, expressed his concerns with Polk County’s 2024 statistics in an email to ABC Action News.
“Clearly, almost 3% of the animals in their care dying is a signal to assess management practices,” Dr. Weedon wrote, citing the Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters.
In its record for 2024, the UF Department of Veterinary Medicine also questioned Polk County Animal Control’s number of escapes and number of animals that died while in the county’s care.
More than a month ago, ABC Action News emailed the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees Polk County Animal Control, requesting an interview about the statistics, potential improvements, and other related topics.
In an emailed response, Scott Wilder, the Communications Director for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, declined the interview request.
“Our animals are well-cared for by over 60 animal control members who love animals and work hard every day to make a difference,” he wrote, in part. “This is truly a labor of love for our members. Our members work hard to care for, save, and get pets adopted.”
Email response from Polk County by ABC Action News on Scribd
Why are so many animals dying in the county’s care? Wilder said those deaths are “directly related to the number of unhealthy animals we receive as an open intake facility.” Wilder also said Polk County has a higher intake rate than many of its peers when compared to the human population.
Why are so many animals escaping? Wilder said some of the cages are difficult to latch properly, but he said that Polk County Animal Control is taking steps to address the issue.
“We are consistently improving processes at Animal Control,” Wilder wrote.
“This eats at me every night.”
A recent former employee of Polk County Animal Control, who has asked that his identity be concealed out of fear of retaliation, hopes that widespread improvements are being made.
The former employee said he is still haunted by what he saw, heard, and smelled while at Polk County Animal Control.
“This— this eats at me,” he said through tears. “This eats at me every night. I go to bed. I pray. I pray for every single one of those dogs. I know so many won’t make it out alive. And that’s the hard part.”
While the former employee wasn’t sure why hundreds of animals died while in the county’s care, he said it wasn’t uncommon to find the corpses.
“We would find, a lot of times in the morning, dead animals — whether cats or dogs — in their kennel that had died overnight,” he said.
Polk County Animal Control is an open-air facility, which means animals are exposed to the outside temperature.
In the past, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office has said dogs and cats are housed in an area with “huge fans and a ventilation system.”
However, the former employee said the shelter would feel frigid on cold days and swelteringly hot in the summertime.
“I never saw a thermometer,” he said. “These fans are ceiling-mounted or above the kennels. They blow, I found, in my opinion, hot air.”
He said illness was common inside the shelter, and veterinary care was limited.
“Some dogs that would be there would be pregnant with puppies, and unfortunately, the puppies, of course, would die along with the mother,” he said. “Overnight, I was not aware of any vet or any medical processes in the overnight period.”
The former employee also told ABC Action News about the conditions inside the shelter, which, in his opinion, were not up to par.
He sent ABC Action News a video that he says was recorded inside the county shelter in 2023. It shows cockroaches inside a dog’s food bowl. Several other sources confirm Polk County Animal Control is shown in the video.
Watch video taken inside the shelter
“The condition of the kennels were in very bad shape, especially for the dogs,” the former employee said. “Sometimes they would cut themselves with the jagged wires that were used to protect it or the chain-link fencing itself being sharp edged.”
“And the smell is of an ungodly nature. It is overwhelming. It attracts flies. It attracts other infestations,” he continued.
Wilder, in an email sent Tuesday, said the 2023 video no longer represents conditions inside Polk County Animal Control.
“At the time that happened, we had a bug pest control issue that we resolved quickly,” he wrote, in part.
Wilder sent a separate video to ABC Action News that he said shows “what is actually happening now.”
The video shows a clean kennel and a dog eating from a clean food bowl.
According to a timestamp, the video was recorded on Monday. ABC Action News was outside the shelter for roughly an hour Monday and observed multiple crew members cleaning portions of the facility.
In multiple instances, ABC Action News requested access to shoot video inside the shelter to independently verify conditions.
However, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office declined that request.
“By policy we do not offer opportunities for filming inside our animal housing areas,” Wilder, the communications director, wrote.
A fractured relationship
The former employee isn’t the only person who has concerns about Polk County Animal Control. A Lakeland-based animal rescue does too.
Shannon Medina and Angie Lorio run the Polk County Bully Project, which saves hundreds of bully breeds in Polk County each year. The nonprofit had worked hand-in-hand with the county shelter for years and enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship.
“What we do makes a difference. What this project does, what this mission does, is impactful to Polk County,” said Lorio.
In March, Lorio and Medine agreed to an interview with ABC Action News to reluctantly scrutinize how Polk County Animal Control is being run.
“You risk burning a bridge here?” ABC Action News asked them.
“We do,” Medina replied.
“You don’t want to be speaking out against them?” ABC Action News asked.
“No,” Medina answered. “I would not have imagined a point that I actually would, because we felt like we were partners.”
Medina and Lorio said shelter leadership changed months ago, and afterward, their nonprofit could no longer pull dogs easily.
The Bully Project’s co-founders worry the new leaders do not value the work they do to save lives.
“It’s gone from someone trying her best to save as many lives as possible and move dogs to make a difference to—,” Lorio started.
“Radio silence,” Medina finished.
When Polk County Bully Project can pull dogs, Medina and Lorio say they sometimes must do so with little info about the dogs, which is another change from the previous relationship.
“We go into most of the decisions on the rescue list blind,” Medina said.
After ABC Action News made the Polk County Sheriff’s Office aware of the rescue’s feelings, Medina and Lorio say the relationship has improved.
However, it hasn’t changed enough to sway their opinion that Polk County Animal Control needs more transparency, more vet care, and more compassion.
“I think that the level of compassion at Animal Control is held by the employees and the staff,” Medina said. “I do not feel like upper-supervisor management has that compassion.”
The co-founders of Polk Bully Project also believe the county shelter needs better oversight and leadership.
“I’m not quite sure why it’s under the sheriff’s department. Let somebody else take it over,” Lorio said. “With [Sheriff] Grady Judd, I love what he does in our county. I love everything about him, except this.”
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