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Data show fewer strays and euthanasias, more adoptions in Pinellas County agencies

 
Published June 7, 2016

CLEARWATER — Stray animal pickups in Pinellas County are down, and the number of euthanasias among four local agencies has fallen over the past four years, according to the 2016 Pinellas County Animal Welfare Report.

Efforts to increase microchipping and pet ownership education helped lower the stray pickup rate 21 percent to 11,172 last year, while the number of euthanasias among the Humane Society of Pinellas, Pet Pal Animal Shelter, Pinellas County Animal Services and SPCA Tampa Bay fell 27 percent, with 7,581 animals killed in 2015.

The partnership to combine statistics began four years ago as a way to develop a more accurate picture of animal welfare in the county and create strategies to save pets, according to Pinellas County Animal Services director Doug Brightwell. On Wednesday, the four agencies will announce initiatives to better reunite lost pets with their owners.

"All the organizations have been working really hard the last few years to educate the citizens to be responsible pet owners," Brightwell said. "We are encouraging microchipping and licensing, and any animal that comes through (Animal Services) as a stray, we microchip them for free when they go back to their owners so next time it increases the likelihood of them getting home."

SPCA Tampa Bay also launched a low-cost vet clinic last year, which may have contributed in part to the 22 percent drop in owner-requested euthanasias countywide, potentially lowering the number of pets euthanized out of financial desperation, spokesperson Missy MacFarlane said.

The facility saw about 1,000 pets in the first eight months of the clinic, which is open four days a week for vaccines, heartworm testing and other services.

The Humane Society of Pinellas also offers a variety of programs to help needy pet owners, like a Meals on Wheels-type service to deliver food to the homes of animals, a low-cost clinic and behavioral training.

"If a family has reached a hardship and they're needing to surrender their pet, we're trying to find out what kind of programs we could offer," MacFarlane said.

With all four agencies' aggressive adoption programs, the rate of adoptions increased 14 percent between 2012 and 2015, according to the report.

While the county saw an 11 percent decrease in the intake of animals of all types, there was a 29 percent increase in the intake of everything excluding cats and dogs, such as squirrels, owls, rabbits, other wildlife and what's considered "pocket pets."

Martha Boden, CEO of SPCA Tampa Bay, said that could be because of the limited resources in Pinellas County for wildlife care.

Boden said that with only four years of combined data, it's too soon to draw absolute conclusions about trends. But the preliminary numbers show a positive direction, with a decrease in strays, a drop in owner-requested euthanasias and an increase in adoptions.

"That's very encouraging to me because that leads me to think some of our efforts are having an impact," she said.

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Contact Tracey McManus at tmcmanus@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4151. Follow @TroMcManus.