Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information from Friends of Jacksonville Animals and Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services clarifying that the funding pause applies only to the Red Folder post-adoption heartworm assistance program. ACPS says heartworm-positive dogs will continue receiving treatment in the shelter.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services says dogs with heartworm could spend more time at the shelter after a local nonprofit paused funding for a treatment program that helped cover the cost of their care.
In a Facebook post Thursday evening, ACPS said Friends of Jacksonville Animals had paused funding for its Red Folder Program, which helped cover the cost of heartworm treatment through participating veterinary clinics after dogs were adopted. According to ACPS, the treatment costs between $500 and $1,500 per dog.
On Friday, ACPS clarified in a video on Facebook that heartworm-positive dogs will continue receiving treatment at the shelter. The agency said FOJA will continue funding medication used for in-house heartworm treatment while its veterinary team works to expand the number of dogs that can be treated before adoption.
ACPS said the funding pause affects only the nonprofit’s Red Folder Program, which paid for heartworm treatment through participating veterinary clinics after adoption. According to the shelter, the program helped move heartworm-positive dogs into homes more quickly by allowing treatment to continue after adoption.
Without the program, ACPS said more heartworm-positive dogs may need to complete treatment before being adopted, which could result in longer shelter stays, fewer adoptions each month and longer wait times for adopters.
ACPS Director Mike Bricker said the Red Folder Program has allowed heartworm-positive dogs to be adopted while completing treatment through participating veterinary clinics, helping the shelter move the shelter move more dogs into homes than it can treat on-site alone.
“We can only do maybe five or six treatments for dogs per week in the shelter, but we do four or five times that in adoptions every single week,” Bricker said.
In a separate Facebook post, Friends of Jacksonville Animals described the pause as temporary and said the decision was made to protect the nonprofit’s ability to continue supporting animals across its programs. The organization said it will continue funding emergency medical care, in-shelter heartworm treatment, critical supplies and other medical needs as resources allows.
The announcement comes as heartworm remains an ongoing concern across Florida. In a previous interview with HomeFetch, University of Florida veterinarian Dr. Jason Schaub said the state’s warm climate and year-round mosquito activity make Florida a high-risk state for heartworm transmission.
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Heartworm disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, is treatable. According to Schaub, dogs that receive appropriate treatment can go on to live long, healthy lives.
Friends of Jacksonville Animals is a nonprofit organization that supports ACPS through fundraising and other financial assistance for programs that fall outside the city’s operating budget.
HomeFetch has reached out to Friends of Jacksonville Animals and ACPS for additional comment and will update this story if more information is received.
