For years, the animal shelter in Jackson County was identified as a "no-kill shelter," where dogs and cats would go in and come out alive, in most cases. During that time, Jackson County Animal Services received a major and ongoing boost to its work from the Friends of the Animal Shelter, FOTAS.
The county agency and the nonprofit work closely together, but now some distance is being asserted by the county. The physical arrangement of the organizations and their respective roles are receiving scrutiny from county managers, and the shelter is no longer considered "no-kill."
Sky Loos is the Executive Director of FOTAS, and Stacy Brubaker is Jackson County's Director of Health & Human Services, which oversees the shelter. They visit the JX to lay out the redefining of the FOTAS/JCAS relationship and the reasons for it.