Like teens everywhere, typical Jacksonville high school students stay busy. Their days pass by in a blur of homework deadlines, exams, sports, clubs, dates and after-school jobs. However, there are some especially motivated teens whose concern and care for homeless animals is a model of selfless community service. They inspire hope for a future of more comprehensive, humane animal welfare through their actions and public outreach for homeless animals in shelters or struggling to survive outdoors. Ella LeMieux, a junior at Samuel W. Wolfson School for Advanced Studies, and 19-year-old Sejla Hotilovacare among this next generation of local animal welfare activists.
Ella LeMieux
Ella LeMieux is a founding member of the Wolfson Paw Society, currently serving as club treasurer and communications manager. Junior Sarah Robinson created the club and serves as president.
Their other animal-loving friends quickly joined in: Amari Cox, social media manager, Lnyah McElroy, and Natalie Shepard, co-vice presidents. Mr. Akovi Adjevi Neglokpe, Wolfson’s music teacher and choral director, is the club’s sponsor. The club meets biweekly in the chorus room after school, and interested students are welcome to join.
The club officers and student members have made it their mission to connect with and support existing community nonprofit organizations to aid local pet owners and animals in need. They plan to host in-school pet food drives, craft sustainable pet toys from scrap materials and volunteer at local shelters.
“We collect donated pet food at school and deliver that to animal shelters and to EveryPet,” said Lynah McElroy, who plans a career in veterinary medicine.
Above all, these Wolfson Paw Society teens hope to inspire greater community awareness and publicize the needs of homeless dogs and cats caged in shelters awaiting foster or adoption, or that struggle to survive outdoors.
They remind readers of the critical need for pet owners to spay and neuter their animals – the only solution to prevent continuous litters of unwanted dogs and cats.
Sejla Hotilovac
The first impression of Hotilovac is how hard it is to believe she is a recent high school graduate, given her eloquent explanation and deep understanding of Jacksonville’s homeless-animal crisis. Then, when she shares her story – at 13 years old, she learned about and began safely trapping stray cats for spay and neuter surgeries – it is astonishing what she has already accomplished in her young life as a rescuer.
Hotilovac’s involvement began in 2019 when she and her mother noticed the large number of apparently stray outdoor cats that were steadily birthing litters of kittens in the Baymeadows area. It was difficult for mother and daughter to comprehend how this had happened and why no one seemed concerned or motivated to address the situation.
“We saw cats and kittens everywhere, living outdoors, not spayed or neutered – no notched ears, the universal sign of a spayed/neutered cat – around The Grove at Deerwood and the Elliot Baymeadows apartment complexes,” Hotilovac said. “It was shocking and caused us to investigate what we could do.”
Their investigation led to the beginning of their TNR – trap, neuter and release –days, carefully and humanely trapping and transporting these cats, many of which were too feral, skittish, or frightened to allow humans to handle them, to be spayed or neutered in surgery, their ears tipped as well to signify they were now unable to reproduce. When possible, cats were adopted or fostered; otherwise, they were safely returned to their neighborhood.
“Over time, those approximately 100 cats were all spayed and neutered. Their population gradually dropped down to about a dozen as reproduction stopped and they lived out their natural lives,” Hotilovac said.
Hotilovac estimates she has trapped more than 400 cats to date and found loving homes for at least 100.
The overwhelming need to manage the outdoor cat population, and Hotilovac’s success in doing so, led her on a path that continues today: She actively traps, rescues, and socializes ferals for adoption when possible and reports suspected abuse. Hotilovac thanks and credits her friend and mentor local, longtime trapper, foster, and Jacksonville paralegal Summer Crabtree. for teaching her to trap and for continuing to partner with her in ongoing large-scale TNR efforts.
Hotilovac’s close friends, Hannah and Magda, also trap and help her transport. The young rescuers urge citizens – even those who dislike cats – to be kind to trappers, who are sometimes cursed or worse. Hotilovac’s firm belief is that all cats deserve a chance to live safely and that TNR helps rescuers successfully manage outdoor cats, which are often able to find adoptive homes through socialization.
Getting Involved
Local animal shelters offer free orientation to volunteers upon registration, whether online or in person. Trapping outdoor or feral cats is a special skill that experienced rescuers can easily teach, often borrowing proper traps from EveryPet, which collects a refundable deposit when a trap is issued for a TNR. Traps can also be bought online or at hardware and farm supply stores.
Volunteer cat rescuers and trappers should only enter private property with the permission of the property or business owner. Informational videos are available online for readers interested in learning how to trap.
The Duval County Animal Care and Protective Services should be contacted if there is an animal in distress or if there are suspected cases of abuse or injury. An animal code enforcement officer will be dispatched to investigate and address the situation. Reports can be made by calling (904) 630-2489 during business hours; after hours, call Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500. Reports can also be submitted via email ([email protected]) or online at jacksonville.gov/departments/neighborhoods/animal-care-protective-services.
