b'Recently, we visited Citrus County Animal Services and met withOperations Supervisor Colleen Yarbrough, Citrus County Foundation forAnimal Protection President Wanda Moak, Citrus County Board of CountyCommissioner Ruthie Davis Schlabach, and Citrus County PublicInformation Officer Veronica Kampschroer. The main focus of ourdiscussions was the need for a new shelter. Then, we took a tour.CITRUS COUNTY,IF NOT NOW, WHEN?words and pictures by Anna CookeMoneydoesnotgetanewshelterbuilt.Peopledo. Providing a good customer experience in the existingSupporters, volunteers, staff and animal advocates who building is difficult. There is only one entrance for thelive in and around Citrus County are moving forward publictouse.Imaginesomeoneentersthesheltertowith a capital campaign. They are advocating loudly for consideradoptingapet,whilepassingsomeoneelsea new building to replace the old, outdated and dilapidat- exitingintearsafterhavingtheirpethumanelyed one that has housed Citrus County Animal Services euthanized.Twocompletelydifferentexperiencesthatfor more than 40 years. Not everyone is on board with occur often at the same time.the new shelter movement, even though its been a hot On campus, inside or outside, staff members andtopic among county leaders, county commissioners and volunteers have no place to go to decompress. Kennelcampaigning politicians for the last 20 years. fatigue is real and these quiet areas are necessities, notYears ago, around the time Citrus County Animal luxuries, to ensure the health and well-being of staff andServices shelter was built, public animal shelter buildings volunteers. Building a new shelter is just as much aboutwere designed with the idea that a high percentage of taking care of the humans who work and volunteer theredogs and cats taken in would be killed. Under such cir- as it is about caring for the animals.cumstances, the thinking was that the health and comfort Educational and enrichment programs for children,of the animals was not a concern since they would not be like the reading programs found at so many shelters, arein the shelter for long. Back then, efficiency was more non-existenthere.Thesearefundamentaltoteachingimportant in shelter design than concern for the animals. kids, among other things, the importance of responsibleIn Citrus County, there are some who feel the exist- petownership.Asitstandsnow,howcanparentsbeing shelter is just fine the way it is. However, the way it encouragedtobringtheirchildtoanunsafeandis includes animals exposed to the elements (heat, cold, unhealthy environment?rain), cramped quarters for the animals and staff, a rot- New shelters offer lots of natural light, entry areasting roof, no designated areas to quarantine animals to thatwelcomethepublic,frequentairexchange,morekeep the sick ones away from healthy ones, and a poor spaceperanimal,colonyhousingforcatsawayfromdrainage system. There is more. If you are a resident of dogs,andnoisecontrol.TherearegoodreasonsforCitrus County, and youve never been to your municipal providing these basic amenities.shelter, you should pay a visit. It will be eye-opening.Right now, Citrus County Animal Services is a facilityFor instance, before animals are brought in from an that is unsafe and unsanitary for humans and animals. impending cruelty case, Citrus County Animal Services At least seventy percent of the communitys votersstaffandvolunteersmustimmediatelystartcreating haveexpressedsupportforanewshelter.Theyhavemakeshift quarantine areas. They build temporary ken- already raised more than one million dollars without thenels and move animals, equipment, supplies, and staff to helpofabigfundraisingeventtokickoffacapitalaccommodate the additional intake. campaign drive. Continued on the following page gwww.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 35'