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COMMUNITIES IN ACTION
FMPD Presents Officer of Meet the new
the Month Awards Executive Director
The Fort Myers Police Department presented of the Cape Coral
Officer of the Month Awards to five different Animal Shelter
members of the department on Thursday, June
20th at its bi-weekly Citi-Stat review. Chief
Derrick Diggs read letters of recommendation
from citizens and superiors on outstanding
efforts by officers and detectives who were
recognized for their dedication.
Liz McCauley, a native of Pennsylvania, comes to the Cape Coral
The Mission BBQ Officer of the Month Award Animal Shelter with over 30 years of experience and a Master’s Degree
was presented to Officer Manuel Massa for in Business with a specific concentration in Non-profit Leadership and
assisting a citizen involved in a hit and run Management.
accident. Officer Masa is pictured with Chief
Derrick Diggs and Mission BBQ representative As a little girl who brought home and nurtured countless homeless critters
Kimberly Boklage. during her childhood, she spent many years volunteering in various
aspects of animal rescue. In 2007, while adopting her first dog from a
The FMPD Officer of the Month Award was local shelter, a staff member told her he was most likely a “puppy mill
given to Officers Jimmy Hernandez and Yanny breeder dog”. From that moment, Liz’s life was forever changed and
Morales for investigative work that led to the she has spent the last 12 years fighting to strengthen the animal cruelty
arrest of a robbery suspect. laws nationwide through tougher legislation and educating people about
animal neglect and abuse.
The Investigators of the Month Award went
to Detectives Rochelle Curr and James In 2015, Liz became the Executive Director of one of the largest open-
Langton who were commended by the State admission animal shelters in Eastern Pennsylvania where she had
Attorney’s office for their investigative work previously served on the fundraising committee, the board of directors,
and professionalism. Detective Curr is pictured and as a foster. During her tenure, she led the organization in expanding
with Chief Diggs (Detective Langton was not the foster program, developing relationships with other rescues,
available.) implementing new programs and procedures, and substantially increasing
live release rates for both dogs and cats—an extremely difficult task for
Congratulations to all the FMPD rank and file a shelter that is responsible for county-wide animal control. Liz became
who continue to go above and beyond the call a Pennsylvania Humane Police Officer in 2016 and assisted with animal
of duty. cruelty investigations throughout the region.

After moving to the “Sunshine State” in October of 2017 to escape the
freezing cold winters, Liz took the job as Shelter Manager for the Gulf
Coast Humane Society. Striving to ease the burden placed on animal
control facilities throughout SWFL, Liz developed relationships and
worked tirelessly to save unwanted, abandoned, and abused animals.

Her passion for animals, experience in rescue, and education in the non-
profit sector will help guide CCAS as we embark on our mission to save
and protect the animals of our region and find them forever homes.

Liz and her husband Bobby enjoy spending time with their four rescue
dogs—Sammy, Abbey (pictured), Holly, and Buckey (pictured). They
reside on Pine Island and are having a blast discovering all the benefits of
living in a “tropical paradise.”

For more stories, pictures and the most comprehensive calendar of events in
Southwest Florida, go to:
RiverStyleMag.com & CapeStyleMag.com

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