TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Animal rescues across Central Florida have spent the past several years under intense strain, facing financial shortfalls, overcrowded shelters, and major operational setbacks.
What You Need To Know
- Florida shelters took in more than 353,582 dogs and cats in 2024, overwhelming rescues across Central Florida
- SPCA of Brevard cut staff and limited intake in 2024 as monthly operating costs reached $100,000
- Officials say housing challenges and breed discrimination are driving more pet surrenders
- Shelters are launching new revenue streams, from dog daycare to puppy “cuddle breaks,” to stay open
In Florida alone, information from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine found that more than 353,000 dogs and cats ended up in shelters in 2024, which kept rescue facilities across the region under constant pressure.
At the SPCA of Brevard, it’s a nonstop cycle of spay and neuter surgeries and health checkups, with much of the work being handled by staff and volunteers dedicated to keeping animals off the streets.
Executive Director Susan Naylor said her commitment to the shelter began years ago as a volunteer.
“And I started out as a volunteer 16 years ago,” Naylor said.
Keeping the SPCA of Brevard operating comes at a steep cost.
Naylor said it takes about $100,000 a month to run the facility.
In 2024, those financial pressures forced difficult decisions, including laying off 15% of staff and turning animals away as overcrowding pushed the shelter to operate at half capacity.
“We had to run at about 50% capacity for our animals, which is always hard, because we had to tell people no,” Naylor said.
Naylor said many of those surrenders are tied to the housing market and breed discrimination, where landlords and insurance companies deny housing based on a dog’s appearance rather than behavior.
“With the housing comes along with insurance and breed discrimination,” she said. “Some places, if your dog looks like a little box-headed dog, it doesn’t matter if they’re actually in the pit bull-type family. Landlords and insurance companies will turn them away.”
To help stabilize finances, the SPCA of Brevard is opening a dog daycare as a new revenue stream to support shelter operations.
“People will be able to pay to bring their dogs here,” Naylor said. “And every bit of money that is raised by this place will actually go back to the SPCA shelter.”
The SPCA is not alone in its challenges.
The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando suffered a devastating fire in 2021 that killed animals and forced the nonprofit to operate out of temporary locations, including a downtown Orlando site.
The organization now spends more than $415,000 a month to operate.
“We lost our main campus to fire,” operations director Kathy Burns said. “We’re building and opening a new shelter in the spring, so we’re very excited to have that added capacity.”
The new facility comes with a $15 million price tag, and the fire reduced annual animal intake from about 7,000 animals to 4,000.
To help make up the difference, Pet Alliance launched creative fundraising ideas like puppy “cuddle breaks,” allowing people to interact with dogs while generating critical funding.
“There was a market being that we’re in Orlando, and it’s a convention market,” Burns said.
Burns said the program gives people an opportunity to interact with puppies, and it “brings in about $120,000 of revenue each year.”
