Okaloosa County Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a one-year animal control contract with Panhandle Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) as the county explores options to create its own animal control service.
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In most Florida counties, animal services are run by the sheriff’s office or other government agency. Okaloosa County has contracted that service to PAWS.
The one-year $824,018 is a 15.43% increase from last year’s rate. Like many shelters across the region, PAWS has been at capacity and struggling with an increase in intakes and rising costs. The new rate was calculated at $6.50 per capita for the county’s 126,772 residents living in unincorporated areas. Other municipalities, such as Destin and Mary Esther, have separate contracts with PAWS.
PAWS will “likely not be in the animal control service business within the next year, perhaps two years,” said Patrick Maddox, Okaloosa County Director of Public Safety.
“The county is over a barrel because we have depended on this agency for this service,” he added. “I don’t want to put us in that position again.”
Last month, PAWS Executive Director Tracey Kinsley shared a statement explaining why the organization was renegotiating contracts with the municipalities it serves. From October 2024 to July 1, PAWS had responded to more than 2,200 animal control-related intakes. Per county ordinance, the organization is required to board animals for no less than five days.
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“Now imagine this: The average cost to board an animal at a local facility is around $60 per day—and that doesn't include food, blankets, toys, or medical care,” Kinsley added. “On top of that, the ordinance mandates we provide vaccines, preventatives, and any necessary medical treatment upon intake.”
The average cost of an animal intake is about $500, which totals $1.12 million. This only covers basic animal needs and not staff and operations. All combined contracts from Okaloosa and other municipalities equal $900,000. In her statement, Kinsley shared the animal service budgets for the surrounding areas. In Santa Rosa County, the budget is $1.2 million and does not include intake costs; Escambia County is $1.4 million and does not include intake costs, and Walton County is $1.7 million.
No option is off the table, Maddox said, as the county explores what animal services will look like, which could include both animal control and shelter.
“We’re looking at it holistically,” he said. “If we are going to do it and go through the pain of developing it, we might as well look at a facility that can handle both, so that when we have to engage in hurricane sheltering, we have that pet-friendly space available as well.”
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel, who made the motion to approve the contract, said she wants to see the county build a no-kill shelter where people would feel “comfortable.” And though she said she didn’t want to see the county get into the animal control business, she also said, “We don’t have a choice at this time.”
“We can do better, and I want us to do better,” she said. “If we’re going to take this on, I want us to run a first-rate facility: a place where animals are safe during hurricanes, a place where animals are treated humanely, a place we can all be proud of in Okaloosa County.”
