County officials on Thursday said the West Boynton Recreation Center on Jog Road would be the safe haven for 300 people, 240 dogs, 400 cats, 250 birds and small "pocket pets" (e.g., gerbils) during a storm. The county's original plan was to pair owners and their pets at schools, which serve as hurricane shelters, but the School Board rejected it because of concerns about sanitation and sickness. Pets and their owners would stay in separate areas of the 22,000-square-foot recreation center. Estimates show there are about 450,000 pets in the county.
The shelter will be available primarily to county residents who live in mandatory evacuation zones or mobile homes. Pet owners living outside evacuation zones would be allowed to stay if there were space.
The county is spending about $170,000 for shutters, a generator and other supplies for the recreation center, said Vince Bonvento, assistant county administrator. It should be ready sometime in July, but it is not considered a long-term solution. County officials, plan to prove how smoothly a pet shelter can be run. The county is ordering cages in case owners show up without them, or bring the wrong size for their pets, Bonvento said.
County Commissioner Addie Greene, herself a dog owner, was pleased the county found a facility just as hurricane season revs up. "It's perfect timing," she said. "I'm really thinking about senior citizens. They can't just pick up and leave like younger people can. They don't know where to go and have enough on their minds than to worry about their only friend."Plans call for owners and pets to leave the shelter after the storm passes. People whose homes are uninhabitable would be given some consideration."We'll take a look on a case-by-case basis," she said.
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