Partners for Pets planning to reopen after abrupt closure

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Community members have been showing their support for Partners for Pets since the shelter announced its closure last month. The Board unexpectedly voted to shut it down due to lack of funds.

“Regardless of the decision that was made, I feel that it wasn’t made appropriately for the community,” local volunteer Kelby Shults said.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, the community showed up in support of keeping the shelter open, and some big decisions were made by the board, like voting out the board’s President and Vice President.

“We removed Ken and Judy from the Board of Directors, and we also elected new board members as well,” Interim President Carol Johnson said.

Once the new board was set, they continued with business. They now plan to reopen their doors in the next 30 days, but they still have a lot to do before that can happen.

“The board will be meeting quite often to decide a budget, who we’re going to hire, restaffing, where we’re going to put animals and what needs to be done to have it open,” Johnson said.

They aren’t sure yet whether they will be able to reopen at a possible new location, or the old one. However, they say it’s important they reopen soon.

“A lot of animals come here and find shelter when they couldn’t find it anywhere else, and not only that, they don’t have to worry about their lives ending because they came to the shelter,” Shults said.

Officials say they couldn’t have done this without the help and support of the community.

“We had a lot of people join up to be members of Partners for Pets and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of other people to help donate,” Johnson said.

Board members say they hope they can rehire the staff that was let go when the shelter was closed.

It hasn’t been decided exactly when the shelter will reopen, but we will update you as soon as more information becomes available.

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