MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – Safe Animal Shelter in Middleburg needs donations to survive, or nearly 100 cats and dogs will be without a place to stay and 10 employees could lose their jobs by the first of the year.
"We need help with the day-to-day bills," said Juli Wilkison, of the shelter.
After 23 years, Clay County's Safe Animal Shelter is trying to stay open.
"We are grateful for whatever we get," said Gwendolen Osborn, of the shelter. "We are always begging for donations."
Keeping the shelter running costs roughly $15,000 a month. It gets no government funding and relies on donations, but those donations are dwindling.
"We're just worried about what's going to happen the coming year, what we are going to do with the animals, where are they going to go if something did happen to where we did have to close down," Osborn said.
The shelter takes in animals from all over, including animals from other county agencies to try to lessen the euthanasia rate. But it hasn't been much help as of late because it can barely take care of the dogs and cats it already has.
The shelter is asking for monetary donations from the community to help it continue its mission. Workers said adopting the animals would also help. An adoption costs $25, and pets are vaccinated, micro-chipped, and spayed or neutered.
"The human animal bond is amazing, and they do more for us than we can do for them, that's for sure," Wilkison said.
If you would like to help the shelter stay open, call 904-276-7233.