- April 28, 2024
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After differences of opinion about whether the Flagler Humane Society should join forces with the Volusia County-based Halifax Humane Society, Diane Voigt has resigned as the president of the board. Nicole Brose will take over as president for the next few weeks until a permanent executive director is hired.
The new executive director will be one of a few other significant changes at the organization that cares for more than 4,000 animals per year — almost all of them from Flagler County, Brose said. A development director and other volunteers will also be trained to more effectively raise money in the community through the Humane Heroes program.
“We’re not government funded. We have some basic animal control contracts, but that doesn’t cover the costs,” Brose said. “Without donations in the community, we do struggle to pay for them.”
She added: “Many animals come in with medical issues. They need more than a fluffy blanket.”
Brose said the society doesn’t have reserves and is only at the break-even point each month. To help with funding, a grant has been secured, and that will be announced soon.
To comply with a new state law, the Humane Society will also begin publishing its statistics online, at www.FlaglerHumaneSociety.org.
“We want the community to know exactly what is happening,” Brose said. “We want to be transparent … and break down everything: how many feral cats come in compared to domestic. We think that once people realize what’s happening, they’ll be more willing to support us. When you have to euthanize animals, that gets controversial. But we do everything we can to save lives. That’s always the goal.”
How can the community help? One way is to adopt the animals that are housed at the Humane Society. Families can also volunteer to foster pets for a day, a week, a month. Donations are welcome. Residents can also support the Humane Society by attending the society’s events.
The most important way to help, though, is to help stop the overwhelming problem of overpopulation by spaying and neutering.
“We have an overabundance in this community because people allow their pets to breed,” Brose said. We do low-cost spay neutering. If it’s a pit bull or a pit mix, we do it for free. There is no excuse not to spay and neuter.”
Visit www.FlaglerHumaneSociety.org for more or to subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter. Call 445-1814 and like the society on Facebook for updates.
