76th Coffee with the Commissioner: All About the Escambia County Animal Services Division and the County Animal Shelter

We will premiere our 76th episode of the Coffee with the Commissioner live on Facebook in about an hour from now at 6:30.  Watch it live, or check it our on YouTube via the below link/video!

Great work is being done with your taxpayer dollars in our Animal Services Department!

76th Coffee with the Commissioner Tomorrow Morning: All About the County's Animal Services Division

Tomorrow morning will be a first:  it will mark the first time we have pre-recorded a Coffee with the Commissioner event for showing at a later date.  This was initially necessitated due to some scheduling/staffing issues last month that arose leading to a cancellation of our coffee for September.  But after we regrouped-- we realized there is a lot to go through at our Animal Shelter and a lot to discuss with our Animal Services Director John Robinson.  This, combined with the hours and maintenance schedule at the shelter, lent additional creedence to our decision to pre-record.

So we did a visit to the shelter Fiday of last week, toured the facility met the staff and most importantly met many of the shleter's 4-legged occupants that need good homes!   

In tomorrow's coffee you will learn all about this function of county government that is extremely important, yet also often overlooked/marginalized.  Some amazing, mind blowing statistics will be revealed regarding the dramatic increase in our shelter's live release rate--which to me is probably the most profound data point I took away from our meeting.  We'll also discuss microchipping our pets, pet licensing post-DocuPet, strategic alliances the shelter has with other agencies in the shelter-pet space to find homes for animals, and multiple other important, relevant topics.

If you love animals like I do, I think you will find tomorrow's coffee an entertaining and interesting watch!

(My counterparts on the BCC have voted with me to waive all adoption fees through the end of the month of October--so keep that in mind as you see some of these great animals we will introduce you to in tomorrow's coffee!)

Join me live on Facebook at 6:30 AM for a brief introduction and then the premier of the coffee at 6:35 sharp on facebook, youtube, and this blog simultaneously.

76th Coffee with the Commissioner Live from the Animal Shelter Postponed Until October

 

Our 76th Coffee with the Commissioner event which was planned for tomorrow morning at the Escambia County Animal Shelter from 6:30-7:30 AM has been postponed due to an unexpected staff emergency which will prevent the event from happening tomorrow morning.

We will move this coffee event, live on YouTube from the Animal Shelter, to October.

My apologies for the last minute change.

All County Animal Shelter Adoption Fees Waived for the Next 90 Days

 

If you've waited to find a great animal companion--the next few months may be the perfect opportunity for you to consider adopting a pet from our animal shelter!

At Thursday's agenda review meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, one topic came up and was considered in the first five minutes of our discussions.  It's a  subject that should be bipartisan and non-political.  Heck, it should be a concept embraced by everyone--even the media and those who hate elected public officials for their mere existance. (Luckily that latter sort is a very small, miniscule faction of our population locally)  But even they should be able to celebrate what we are going to be doing.

Because the subject is animals and how we can help them.  Too many dogs and cats in our community  have been abandoned, neglected, or turned over to our County Animal Shelter because their owner(s) could no longer take appropriate care of them.

We currently have an over-abundance of such animals in our shelter--checked out by the veteranarians, given their shots, and ready for adoption.  

So we need to assist staff with helping to find these animals new homes!  😊

My September Coffee with the Commissioner event will happen live from the County Animal Shelter, and will take place on Wednesday morning, September 21st from 6:30AM-8:00AM.  At this event-- which will be streamed live by the folks at CMR and on Facebook--we will spotlight many of the animals that are available for adoption, as well as walking the facility, meeting staff and volunteers, and illustrating the important work this division of our County Government does day in, day out.

Important, compassionate work.

I had planned on making a $2,500.00 contribution from my D1 discretionary funds to cover the $21 costs of adoptions for the month of September;  my counterparts instead suggested we simply waive the fees for a period of 60 days for all adoptions------ which is an even better plan.

So through the end of  October all fees are waived for adoptions through Escambia County's Animal Shelter at 200 W. Fairfield Drive.

Learn more about the process of adoptions by visiting our Animal Services page here or by stopping by the shelter in person.

You can look online and see the pets currently available for adoption from multiple shelters by going to 24PetConnect and clicking the adopt link and entering your zip code.  There are hundreds of animals there waiting for good homes.

What a Great Day at Escambia's Animal Shelter!

                      Watch the brief highlight video from the event and the ribbon cutting above

From MyEscambia.com

"The Escambia County Animal Shelter hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday, Jan. 29 for a shelter reopening after extensive shelter renovations. The renovations are part of a grant valued at $75,000 from GreaterGood.org's Rescue Rebuild, a volunteer program that works to rebuild, repair and renovate animal shelters and rescues in need. The grant was applied for by Friends of the Escambia County Animal Shelter, and the Escambia Shelter project was selected from 150 project submittals.

Volunteers began renovations Saturday, Jan. 20 and worked through Monday, Jan. 29. Over 400 volunteers participated throughout the course of the project. The renovations included complete demolition and reconstruction of the lobby, front counter, tile flooring, cat rooms and waiting area, along with the addition of a "catio" for outdoor cat play and the installation of sun sails over the dog play yards. 

Escambia County Animal Services Manager John Robinson said the renovations will focus on increasing adoptability while making the animals’ time at the shelter more comfortable and enjoyable.

"You see the changes on the outside of the building, but the amazing thing is that it’s not just cosmetic"