BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — Staff at the Humane Society of the Nature Coast in Brooksville say they are in a crisis — they’re out of space with more and more animals needing help each and every day.
- Humane Society in Brooksville needs more space for animals
- Organization already has plans to expand; phase 1 underway
- Director of Development says they want to start phase 2 ASAP
“We try to pull from Hernando County Animal Services, that way less animals get euthanized. We can’t handle that need. We try our best to pull one to two a week,” said Susana Arneson, Director of Development for the Humane Society of the Nature Coast.
Arneson said they have people waiting up to six weeks for staff to see their animal if they’ve requested an owner surrender.
“Last weekend we had three cats that were left in crates right in front of our gate as well. So unfortunately the need is real here in Hernando County,” she explained.
But they are planning to expand. Phase one is already underway — it will triple their cat capacity and create six so-called “catios” for the cats to explore.
Phase two would triple their dog capacity.
Arneson said they were planning to wait to start that project until a year or two after phase one was completed, but because of the need, they want to start phase two as soon as they can.
“It’s disheartening coming in and wanting to do more and not being able to,” Arneson said.
“If we had more space we’d be able to house more animals and take some of that burden off the county that is already at capacity,” she added.
If you’d like to help the Humane Society of the Nature Coast with their expansion, you can donate on their website.
They also are having a fundraiser on March 28.
