Animal Welfare League facing potential closure pending contract agreement with Charlotte County

PORT CHARLOTTE- The Animal Welfare League of Charlotte County could be closing their doors to the public if they and the county fail to come to an agreement about their contract. 

Tara Zajas, executive director of the Animal Welfare League, emphasized the urgency of the situation.

"We very much still want to sit at a table and negotiate. It's our mission. It's our heart, it's what we do. But the timeline is ticking. We no longer have the funds to be able to make this sustainable for us," said Zajas.

The shelter accommodates 350 to 400 animals at any given time, in addition to about 100 in foster care systems.

The Animal Welfare League is the only no-kill, open-admission shelter that has partnered with Charlotte County for more than 50 years. However, the contract that covers the shelter's needs and expenses has not been renegotiated since 2013.

Zajas explained the financial challenges that have arisen over the past decade.

"We sat down with them about a year ago and said we needed to renegotiate this. Both sides agreed that that needed to happen. We sent them what we thought was a fair contract in September (2025), and most recently, a couple days ago, they came back to us with what they thought was a fair contract for us, administration, county administration, sent it back, and unfortunately, we are not in agreement with that," said Zajas.

Currently, Charlotte County contributes approximately $320,000 annually to the shelter. The Animal Welfare League has stated that it requires $1.5 million to meet the growing expenses.

The county's recent offer of $500,000 falls significantly short of the shelter's needs.

In addition to providing shelter for hundreds of animals at a time, the Animal Welfare League hosts a food pantry on Wednesdays and Saturdays, providing cat and dog food to Charlotte County residents who need the extra help caring for their animals. 

Zajas expressed her concerns about the potential closure.

"I don't know that the county has the means to create another shelter environment that they would have to fund and pay for, and have employees to do that. And the only other option would be to bring them to an area kill shelter, which would literally break our hearts. It's the very last thing that we want to happen," said Zajas.

In a last attempt to secure necessary funding, the shelter sent a nine-month notice to the county, warning that the contract will be terminated if an agreement is not reached.

"If we aren't vocal about this, if we just let it sit, nothing's going to get done in a year from now, we're going to be sitting here with a shelter that doesn't house public animals and we're going to be sitting here having a conversation about what the Animal Welfare League used to look like, and that would break my heart," said Zajas.

Charlotte County officials tell WINK News they returning to the negotiation table in hopes of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement. Meanwhile, the Animal Welfare League is encouraging those interested in adopting or fostering pets to visit the shelter between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. throughout the week.