County repurposes airport’s lost and found items for animal shelter

Key Takeaways

Broward County, Fla. is giving new life to items left behind at the airport. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport staff donate its lost-and-found collection to Broward County Animal Care, which repurposes items like blankets, towels and clothing into toys for the rescue animals in its shelter. 

The airport donates its lost and found collection to Animal Care every three months, and more than 30 large boxes or bags of unclaimed items have been donated since the partnership’s inception, according to Arlene Satchell, Broward County Aviation Department’s public information officer. 

“Our efforts are always to reunite people with their lost items,” Satchell said. “But if they’re unclaimed after 30 days, then we have to find new life for them in various ways.

“… By donating these unclaimed materials, the Broward County Aviation Department-Animal Care partnership extends their life cycles by repurposing them into caregiving and enrichment products to benefit Broward County’s homeless animals.”

Amanda Butler, Animal Care’s outreach coordinator, gave a demonstration to WPLG-TV, a news station in the community, on how staff repurpose the items. She cut donated bedsheets into strips and braided them into a rope toy.

“People travel with crazy things,” Butler said. “So, this was a sheet that was in the lost and found, donated by the aviation department, and we’re going to show how we turn it into something that’s useful for the dogs.”

Donated blankets are also used as bedding for the shelter animals’ comfort, according to Satchell. Other lost and found items donated to Animal Care include apparel, comforters, dog leashes and collars, pet strollers, bowls and pet food.  

The partnership has allowed Animal Care, which has limited resources, to fill in other funding gaps it has, according to Satchell. Hundreds of toys and accessories have been created out of the items for animals in need. 

“The agency continually embraces ways to involve the community in its pet care regimen through volunteer recruitment, adoption, donations and fostering events, such as baby showers for kittens,” Satchell said. “With the shelter often operating at full intake capacity, there is a growing need for donated items to help offset its operational needs.”

The donations not only benefits animals in need but also cut down on unnecessary waste for the county, according to Satchell. 

“The program serves a key sustainability and environmentally friendly function by redirecting items from potentially ending up in landfills,” she said. 

The partnership initially came about in 2018 from a conversation between Animal Care and Aviation Department staff and has “blossomed into a formal and structured interagency collaboration” since the pandemic, with Animal Care’s growing need for cost-effective pet-care items and the airport’s desire to find more sustainable and recyclable options for the left-behind items, Satchell said. 

“For both Broward County agencies, the Lost and Found donation partnership is a way to foster collaboration among government entities, help solve mutual challenges to further county goals and educate the local community about their respective roles, programs and services,” she said.