Wakulla County Animal Services is urging residents to speak up when they suspect animal abuse, saying community members are often the only voice animals in dangerous situations have.
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Wakulla County Animal Services urges residents to report animal abuse to help protect vulnerable pets
Animal Services Director Walter Class said most of the cases his agency investigates were reported by a neighbor whether a mail carrier, delivery driver, passerby, or concerned citizen.
“We depend upon the public to report these issues, be the voice for those who don’t have any,” Class said.
The agency has handled a wide range of cases, from severe neglect and physical or mental abuse to animals being shot.
Class said signs of abuse and neglect can take many forms.
“It may be the body condition score may be very low, which is a sign or a symptom of neglect, which could be failure to provide food and water and proper shelter, we see signs where they haven’t provided necessary veterinary care to relieve pain and suffering. Animals that have had traumatic injuries, perhaps been hit by a car, or maybe the injury the owner says they don’t know how the animal was injured, but they yet they fail to provide any relief from the suffering their animal is in,” Class said.
Animal hoarding is another form of cruelty the agency frequently investigates. Class said hoarding begins when someone has more animals than they can properly care for.
“Hoarding. It’s a unique kind of neglect or cruelty that animals experiences when they’re in. You have an overpopulation of animals in a small confined area. This is often a type of case that we receive where we have to go out and investigate, and at times the numbers can be anywhere from 10 to well, well into the hundreds of animals. So that’s a unique problem within the animal cruelty neglect world,” Class said.
Recently passed Florida laws, including Dexter’s Law, Trooper’s Law, and HB 559, have strengthened the agency’s ability to act. The laws make it a felony to include or encourage a child to participate in animal cruelty crimes and increase penalties for animal fighting and baiting offenses. Florida law also gives Animal Services the ability to seize animals without a warrant when neglect is found.
Class said clear legal authority allows investigators to move quickly.
“Well, having clear and concise laws that give you the ability to enforce them on site enables us to to provide almost immediate relief to those animals that we find in those conditions, and it also allows us to involve the sheriff department early on, and they can follow up with criminal charges if if it’s found established,” Class said.
If criminal prosecution does not move forward, Animal Services can pursue civil prosecution. Class said the agency prosecutes about 6 cases a year on average, with a 100% success rate.
One example of the impact of that work is a dog named Creed. Creed was severely underfed and the definition of skin and bones when Animal Services removed him from his situation. Through the work of Animal Services and his family, he is now a healthy weight and knows what it means to be loved.
Class emphasized the importance of reporting suspected animal abuse to Animal Services.
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