More than two dozen rescue volunteers stood up at Tuesday morning's Pasco County Board of Commissioners meeting to speak out against what they call deplorable conditions at animal services.

"There are no windows in building C.  There is no air-conditioning," says volunteer Karen Berk.

Rumors are even swirling about too many animals being euthanized.  One volunteer told us about an incident she heard over the weekend.

"Almost all the animals in building C were gone," says volunteer Kristen King.  "Normally it's just completely overflowing and there are animals everywhere, there were no animals."

The board told the volunteers they would look into the matter. 

Bay News 9 went down to animal services and asked to check out building C for ourselves. Once inside, we met up with Director John Malley, who says he wants to set the record straight.  

He says building C is an intake facility, not the adoption center that more people are familiar with. 

He says animals are placed there when they first arrive.  It's open 24-7 and more often than not, the animals are brought in before staff arrive for the day, often in bad shape. 

Malley says he opened it to the public last year in an effort to be more transparent.

"People are now seeing what really takes place.  And it's an overabundance of animals that come in through the doors every day. And it doesn't stop."

As for mass euthanasia, Malley says that statement is completely false. He says there are guidelines they must stick to regarding the ratio of staff to animals and after a certain number of days, some pets must be put down.

Take for instance Frodo, a 9-year-old German Shepard mix.  His owners divorced and gave him up when they moved.  Though sweet-natured and housebroken, he will have to be put down if he isn't adopted before 8:30 Wednesday morning.

"The right thing is not always the easy thing but that's what they do," Malley says.

He urges all who came out to the meeting to stop by the shelter and get set up to volunteer. He says more help is always needed.

Interested in adoption?

And, if you are interested in adopting a dog like Frodo, call the shelter immediately and leave a message.  Malley says also be sure to send an email to adoptionpartners@pascocountyfl.net.