Facing Devastating $140,000 Cut, Flagler Humane Society Urges Palm Coast to Fully Fund Animal Care

Contextual note: Palm Coast government’s contract with the Flagler Humane Society this year was $156,000, subsequently increased to $190,000 due to two unforeseen very large volume animal impoundment cases that dramatically increased shelter and veterinary expenses for the city. The current contract expires on Oct. 8. The 2026-27 budget proposed by the city administration is $326,850, which would allow for the per-animal safekeeping fee to increase from $156 to $300. Other fees regarding dangerous dogs, wildlife, pocket pets and for those incarcerated and other miscellaneous causes may also be increased, according to the city, and would bring the total budget to $349,000. The City Council is requesting a cut of $140,000, which would result in a budget of either $209,000 or $186,850, depending on how the administration calculates the cut. Negotiations between the city and the society are ongoing. Rebecca Reynolds, the treasurer of the Flagler Humane Society, wrote the following in that context.–FL

By Rebecca Reynolds

When Molly first came through the door at the Flagler Humane Society in February 2026, she was trembling with fear. She is a tiny chihuahua and miniature pinscher mix, weighing just a few pounds. She had been wandering the streets as a stray. For a dog so small, the big world is a terrifying place.

Molly was not just scared. She was also in pain. Her tiny body was covered from head to toe in fleas. She had a severe skin issue from the infestation, leaving her coat patchy and red, her skin flaking from constant scratching.

Healing a neglected dog like Molly takes more than medicine. It takes patience. It takes compassion. It takes resources, funding, and a team of dedicated people who refuse to give up on the animals who arrive broken, frightened, or forgotten. This is Molly’s journey—and the journey of so many animals who find their way to our shelter.

Then came her medical and behavioral evaluation. Staff noted she was severely malnourished, flea-ridden, and losing hair. She was bathed gently, scheduled for a spay surgery, and tested for heartworms and parasites. Because she arrived with no medical records, she received vital rabies, distemper, and bordetella vaccines to protect her fragile health.

After her intake, Molly was placed in a crate lined with soft, donated blankets and a tiny dog bed. She was given fresh water, a bowl of nutritious food, safety, and warmth.

And that is where I found her.

You see, I am the treasurer on the board of the Flagler Humane Society. I am the person who reviews the financials to ensure our organization can continue to keep its doors open. On that particular day, I was at the shelter to attend a crucial financial meeting with the committee I chair, specifically tasked with evaluating our tightening budget, operational income, and rising expenses.

As I walked past the holding area, I saw Molly, a newly surrendered puppy, cowering in the back of her crate, her entire body shaking.

Like many of the animals at the society, she had been discarded, neglected, left to fend for herself. Thin. Lost. Alone. And by the grace of God, she had been found and brought to a place where people cared enough to fight for her. (Kudos to the staff: they place frightened small dogs in quieter areas so they can decompress away from the noise of larger dogs.)

In that quiet moment, the numbers on my spreadsheets suddenly took on a living, breathing form. It became profoundly clear that every dollar we account for, every budget cut we debate, and every donation we receive translates directly into the comfort and survival of animals just like her.

“Is she up for adoption?” I asked. Then, looking around at the exhausted but determined staff and volunteers, I added, “Is it always like this?”

“Oh, yes,” one replied. “Sometimes the animals arrive even more neglected.” Molly, they said, “was one of the lucky ones.”

Don’t get me wrong, I have adopted many dogs over the years, but there seemed to be a lot of little dogs recently coming to the shelter.

“How many animals did you care for last year?” I asked.

The answer amazed me: 3,053 animals in the last fiscal year — dogs, cats, pocket pets, bunnies, snakes, lizards, wildlife, and even farm animals.

As treasurer, that staggering number made me ask a hard question: What does it really cost the Flagler Humane Society to care for one dog? I went back to the ledger and did the math.

Of those 3,053 animals, 1,832 were strays. FHS holds yearly service contracts with our local cities and the county to cover a portion of the cost of stray care. Local commissioners fully recognize their legal responsibility under Florida Statutes Chapter 767 and Chapter 828 to protect both citizens and animals within their jurisdictions.

However, the cities and county only cover a small portion of the mandatory five-day legal stray hold. By the ordinance set by the city, FHS must hold a stray animal for five days to give owners a chance to find them, during which time we cannot put them up for adoption.

The baseline cost to intake and care for a single animal during this period is $392.64. This includes:

• Physical and emotional assessments.
• Immediate medical treatments and vaccines.
• Veterinary and animal care staff.
• Food, shelter, clean bedding, exercise, and socialization.
• Indirect overhead (facility occupancy, utilities, maintenance, and insurance).

What this baseline does not cover are any additional expenses incurred after the five-day mandatory hold ends. Through my 2026 cost analysis, I discovered a shocking truth: FHS has been subsidizing the City of Palm Coast to the tune of $226,227.84 annually. The city pays just $156.00 per animal, leaving a gaping $236.64 deficit per dog. Multiply that by Palm Coast’s 956 strays, and the shelter absorbs nearly a quarter-million dollars in municipal responsibility.

I then asked myself, how do we cover the rest of the fees? I mistakenly assumed adoption fees made up the difference. They don’t. The average adoption fee is $148.00. Look at the math:

$392.64 – $156.00 -$113.00= $ -123.64 deficit per animal. This net loss does not even factor in the mandatory spay/neuter surgery required before an animal can be adopted out.

If our local population is growing and stray intakes are surging, why not build a larger facility? FHS is actively looking to build a larger kennel to house more animals, but we desperately need the matching assistance of Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Flagler County to do so.

For 44 years, the Flagler Humane Society has poured its heart and soul into providing invaluable community safety nets:

• Low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, microchipping, and veterinary services.
• The Furry Friend Food Bank to help struggling families keep their pets.
• Disaster sheltering partnerships with the county’s Emergency Operations Center.
• Feral cat Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs.
• Temporary crisis housing for pets whose owners are hospitalized or incarcerated.
• Cruelty and abuse investigations in tandem with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, including an established foster kitten/puppy program with the Sheriff’s Office.

We have been so fiercely dedicated to this mission that we have routinely funneled our growth capital directly into basic daily operational costs to ensure every healthy and treatable animal has the greatest opportunity for a positive outcome. Our community should be incredibly proud of our numbers: 2,265 successful adoptions and 544 lost pets reunited with their families last fiscal year. It proves Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Flagler County care.

This budget year, we are asking Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach, and Flagler County to simply meet our actual baseline costs. We are not a corporation looking for a profit. We are a non-profit trying to survive and build a larger facility that accommodates an expanding community. It took the foresight of City Commissioner Theresa Pontieri to visit our facility and formally ask if we were planning an expansion to keep pace with local growth.

City officials are now proposing to slash our funding even further to cushion other municipal departments.

Molly’s story is not an isolated case. We cannot keep absorbing local governments’ financial responsibilities at the expense of our future. If you care about the safety of our streets and the lives of our animals, please contact the Palm Coast City Council immediately before the final budget vote. Please urge them to properly fund the care of stray animals during the required stray holding period at the requested, data-backed rate of $392.64 per animal.

So, how does Molly’s journey end?

I adopted her—and she adopted me right back. Her skin healed, her coat grew back beautifully, and her vibrant spirit blossomed. She makes me laugh every single day with her silly antics. Today, she has an abundance of toys, nutritious food, a big fenced yard, and a canine sister named Daisy who absolutely adores her.

Molly is finally safe. She is deeply loved. Let’s make sure the doors stay open to give the next animal the exact same chance.

Rebecca Reynolds is the treasurer of the Flagler Humane Society.