Animal house

Saturday, December 18, 2004

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More space is needed to house the animals.

The Humane Society of the Nature Coast in Hernando County has big plans for its animal shelter to keep up with the county's growth.

More and more dogs and cats are calling Hernando County home these days, but many of them don't have owners.

Joanne Schoch, the executive director of the Humane Society of the Nature Coast, says unfortunately, not all of the animals can be housed there.

"We have to turn away three to five animals every single day because it's not adequate as far as the space that we currently have available," said Schoch.

Available space and money to build more space is a problem, but some things are being done to keep up with the demand.

"We recently hired a full-time vet technician, which is wonderful because she can assess animals the minute they come in the door," said Schoch.

However, there is no area to examine them for disease before they come in contact with the healthy animals that already live at the shelter.

"Currently, we don't have a separate intake area, so these little babies who are in our general population and in good health, we don't have enough staff," said Schoch. "And people can walk in the front door carrying an animal that they may have found somewhere and we don't know. Is it healthy? Is it carrying an airborne disease and we want to keep our general population that we have in good health separate."

The organization is trying to address the facility's lack of space.

A new play area was added to the kitty cottage, but the dog kennel needs work and another has to be built. The list of things to do is long and Schoch hopes to help ease the long line of dogs and cats needing a place to stay.

The Humane Society of the Nature Coast spends about $10,000-$11,000 a month to keep the facility open, with most of that going toward vet bills and salaries.

Schoch says the planned improvements depend on help from the community. If you would like to help, call 352-232-3032.

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