Manatee County Animal Services chief asks for community support

MANATEE -- The welcome signs are still affixed to the corkboard in Sarah Brown's office at Manatee County Animal Services.

"Keep Calm and Welcome Sarah." "Welcome to the team. You are one of us now." "Welcome to the team!"

Three weeks into leading the county's Animal Services division, Brown, who took over as chief on Feb. 1, says the job is going well so far.

"Everyone has been very kind," said Brown, who had been the executive director at the Pinellas Humane Society since April 2011.

But while the welcome signs are still serving as office decorations, Brown has already gotten to work -- meeting with several shelters and rescue groups. To Brown, community collaboration is key.

"I always say, 'Let's talk about our relationship. Tell me the good, the bad and the ugly. Whatever you want to talk about and let's really work together,'" she said. "I think just starting that really opens communication with the groups and just realizing that this pet overpopulation is a community issue and we really need to all work together as a team to have great success."

As Brown takes the reins of Animal Services, which declared in 2011 it would become the first no-kill agency in Florida, she wants to improve the transparency of the division, which has a shelter in Palmetto, 305 25th St. W..

"I'm going to really work to build the trust of the community back up and implement some positive changes so that they can look at the shelter in a positive light and I would say to everyone, 'Come help out volunteer, adopt a dog, start a rescue group and take some animals in,'" she said. "Let's be part of the solution to making this such a great community. Everyone is so passionate here and let's put that passion to action and really just do what's right for the animals here. ... Today is a new day. Let's move forward from the past and look to what the future can bring and that future could be really bright for the animals here."

Community involvement

While Brown has already met with several shelters and rescue groups, she plans to meet with more in the future. Brown added that she will also be working on developing new partners including with her former shelter, which has never pulled animals from Manatee County Animal Services.

"I want to meet with everybody that I can possibly can," she said. "Advocates that want to help in the community, I want to hear what they have to say and figure out how we can really make this a positive impact for animals in Manatee County."

While Manatee County is very passionate about animals, Brown said most communities are pretty passionate.

"I think this community is extremely passionate," Brown said. "If we can just channel that passion and really do some great things, that would be wonderful because the passion is certainly here. I think we are all here for the right reasons. We are all here because we love animals. We want to save animals. We want to do what's right for the animals so I think if we can have open, honest conversations and really work together as a team then we could really accomplish so many wonderful things. ... I think having that transparency is going to be a key element and really hoping that everyone that is so passionate will step up and help out."

Last Tuesday, Brown toured the Humane Society of Manatee County facility. Marsha Forrest, Humane Society board president, said the Humane Society of Manatee County "looks forward to collaborating with her and MCAS toward our common goal of saving lives."

"She will be a huge asset to our community, bringing a compassionate, experienced background in animal welfare to Manatee County," Forrest said. "Her vision on the need for community partners is right on target. No one organization can make as big of an impact as many working together."

In Manatee County, each animal welfare group has something different to bring to the table, Forrest said, adding that the new Pet Health Center allows the Humane Society of Manatee County to offer low cost vet services to people who may not be able to afford the services otherwise.

"Working together makes perfect sense," Forrest said. "Our high-volume spay/neuter clinic also helps the community by reducing the number of unwanted litters and animals entering area shelters, saving the taxpayers money."

Manatee County Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh said it is going to take the entire community working together to make Animal Services successful. The county should allow Brown and Robert Smith, the county's public safety department director, time to make Animal Services "the best that it can be."

"It is very important that we allow these two professionals time to come up with a plan and get the community involved so we can make it the best that it possibly can be," Baugh said.

Early changes

While Brown wants to make a lot of changes as Animal Services chief, increasing the volunteer base, adding enrichment elements into the shelter and reviewing the division's policies and procedures are the top priorities for her first few months in Manatee County.

"I want to do a lot of things," Brown said. "I'm very busy. That's just my personality. I, of course, want to take on the world all at once."

By increasing the number of volunteers, they will be able to provide more enrichment for the animals at the Palmetto shelter, Brown said.

"I think better behaved animals tend to get adopted quicker," she said.

Building a foster base will also be helpful, Brown said, making it possible to provide more information to potential adopters.

"I think working on matchmaking and just talking to our customers as they come in and finding out what they are looking for and knowing those animals well enough that we can say, 'Hey, well Fluffy over here would be a really good match,'" she said. "I think you will see animals getting into better homes and staying in those homes."

Brown said she plans to have the entire staff learn how to do ASPCA behavior evaluations because it will help with being able to do behavior modifications for the animals.

As the county prepares to soon post the shelter manager job opening, the volunteer coordination component will ultimately be the responsibility of the new shelter manager, Smith said.

"The volunteers will essentially be a segment of staff for us and we will look at them as a portion of our staff," Smith said. "That gives us some ability to provide them with the tools that they'll need to do more than just walk dogs, which is what a lot of them are doing now."

As a former volunteer manager, Brown said it will be easy for her to guide the shelter manager with what they need to do and about the importance of volunteers.

Besides the shelter manager, the county will also be looking to add an outreach and events specialist, who will help with adoption events and community communications and engagement, and a veterinarian. A Request for Proposal will go out in the next couple weeks for a contract with a new vet, Smith said.

In the meantime, the county still has contracts with vets in the county. While Luke Berglund is no longer with Beach Vet, the county still has a contract with that clinic and a 24-hour emergency vet for after-hours, Smith said.

"We will maintain those up til and maybe even overlap with the new provider because the last thing we want to do is leave a gap in the service," he said.

A new shelter still needed

Intended for 80 dogs on the adoption side, the Palmetto shelter is consistently overcrowded. As of Thursday, there were 127 dogs and 19 cats at the shelter.

A new shelter is still on the county's wish list, Smith said.

"We are absolutely not designed for the number of animals that we take in here," he said. "The building needs to be updated and expanded. We need a larger facility. We need a much more modern facility. It's a long term goal right now. We are making do with expanding some such as outdoor areas for the dogs and things like that."

At about four acres, the county has used most of the space at the existing location, Smith said.

"We are pretty much maximizing this piece of property," he said. "We don't even have enough parking, really, and if we had the traffic that we need in adoptions, you wouldn't be able to park in here," he said.

With an overcrowded shelter, Brown said she will not be shy asking people for help.

"Hey guys, come on down, We are really full with dogs and we need your help because we want to continue on this mission of no-kill and really doing each step better and better," she said.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Manatee County Animal Services chief asks for community support ."