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Push to reunite lost animals after hurricane
Evyn Moon reports
LAKELAND, Fla. - After Hurricane Milton, more than 100 pets were found in the streets of Polk County and are now taken in by animal control. Now, the Polk County Sheriff's Office is looking to reunite the pets with their owners.
All the pets found now have pictures on the county website where they are urging owners to check to see if their friend is there, or go directly into the animal control office. They will need to have proof of ownership, with a picture of them and the pet or vet records.
"At the end of the day, it was a horrible storm, and we’re trying to make the best of it by trying to reunite people with their pets," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "They were found all over the county, some in places where there was water, some were out wandering around as a result of the hurricane."
Pets from the storm will be held for 30 days to find owners, and then will be available to anyone. The sheriff said, thankfully, they didn’t find any of the pets abandoned in homes. They likely ran away or got scared or lost during the craziness of storm prep and landfall.
"No, we didn’t find any specifically abandoned in homes. If we did, we've got a bigger issue of where are the people who left the pets in the house," said Judd.
But now, the shelters are once again over capacity, and they are asking people to also come in to adopt.
"We need the population down in the shelter, because we are holding 102 extra dogs and cats for 30 extra days," said Judd. "I've gotten people over and over saying they want to help [after the storms]. One of the biggest ways you can help is come adopt a cat or a dog for free."
To help, Polk County is waiving all fees for adoptions for 30 days and extending hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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