NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — The owner of a nonprofit dog rehabilitation organization is fighting to keep her mission alive while it receives pushback from Nassau County.
Local leaders said the owner of Pit Sisters needs to get conditional use approval to continue housing dogs on her property.
Pit Sisters rescues sheltered, abandoned or abused dogs and trains them to become more eligible for adoption.
The organization has been nationally recognized for its T.A.I.L.S. program, which partners with local correctional facilities to have select inmates train these dogs.
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The owner, Jen Deane, said she recently purchased 22 acres of land in a residential area in Nassau County.
There, she planned to live and house rescue dogs that are part of Pit Sisters.
Neighbors contacted county leaders with complaints about these animals living near their homes. County leaders shared several written complaints and said they have gotten several calls from residents.
"I got notified by the county that I'm viewed as commercial operation and because of that, they want me to file a conditional use approval," Deane said. "But after reviewing their ordinances in closer detail, I found that we actually aren't in violation of the usage that's allowed for this property."
Deane has donated sheds on this property where she houses these dogs.
She said each shed has been renovated, and has air conditioning and individual crates for each dog as another level of security.
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There are more than 30 dogs in the program at this time, 12 of those live on Deane's property.
She said volunteers help care for these animals.
The Nassau County Planning and Code Enforcement said in a statement:
"The direction for a conditional use comes from our Land Development Code. Our interpretation is that she is running a dog treatment facility, which requires a conditional use in the Open Rural zoning district. We made the same interpretation for another pet rescue in Hilliard, and their application was approved last month. Each case is looked at based on the property, location, intensity of use, etc."
Deane told Action News Jax she should not be required to get conditional use approval because she does not run the organization out of this properly, only houses the dogs in the program.
"I'm not looking to have fundraising events out here," Deane said. "I'm not looking to do adoptions out here. All I'm looking to do is house dogs, and the county ordinances allow residents to have up to 49 dogs."
Action News Jax spoke to neighbors who live near Deane.
Some said they do not have an issue with the organization and agree it helps rehabilitates these dogs, however, they are wary of the amount of dogs near their houses and the dangers it could bring to neighborhood children.
Deane has about 30 days to file an appeal to the county.
She said she is currently searching for legal representation.