A portly black cat slouches across a counter near the entrance of Pet Pal Animal Shelter, almost like he owns the place.
“That’s Romeo; he works here,” said Scott Daly, the shelter’s executive director.
Romeo is one of a few permanent residents at the shelter. His job title is “experiment cat.” When the shelter needs to see if a dog would be safe around cats, they bring in Romeo.
“He’s never in any danger, of course, but he’s an important member of our team,” Daly said.
Since Pet Pal opened in 2006, its mission has been to give unwanted animals a second chance. It is a nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter at 405 22nd St S in the Midtown area of St. Petersburg. It houses about 50 animals on average.
The most important part of keeping the shelter running, Daly said, are the volunteers. Volunteering is the key to Pet Pal, and Daly wants everyone to know that it’s not just about walking the dogs.
“We have to take care of them and we have to love them,” he said.
Pet Pal sees many volunteers from local high schools, mostly students who need community service hours to qualify for Bright Futures scholarships. In order for high school students to volunteer, they have to meet specific qualifications.
“They have to be goal oriented, they can’t just want to come in and play with puppies,” Daly said. “It’s more than that.”
Many volunteers also come from local colleges, mostly Eckerd and the USF St. Petersburg. The shelter also has a partnership with the Salvation Army, which has a community service program for people who have had brushes with the law. These applicants are thoroughly screened before they can volunteer.
“We want this to be a safe environment,” Daly said. “We do not take sex offenders or people charged with domestic violence.”
The shelter’s staff doesn’t just take in cats and dogs. There’s room for everything from reptiles to pot belly pigs. At the end of November the shelter took in a baby pot belly pig whom the staff named Moonpie. The pig has since been placed in a forever home, but for the shelter it’s proof that every animal deserves a second chance.
Almost all of them come from shelters where they might have been euthanized because of “time limitations, illness, injury, or lack of training,” said Daly.
“It’s not the shelters’ fault. There is an overpopulation crisis, and they don’t have the means to accommodate these animals,” Daly said.
The overpopulation Daly talks about is the reason that about 2.7 million cats and dogs are euthanized in the U.S. every year, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
It’s also one reason that Pet Pal doesn’t take in strays. The shelter is dedicated to giving animals a second chance at life and providing as many opportunities for this as possible.
According to Daly, if the shelter were to take in every stray that was dropped off, the opportunities to save animals from being euthanized would begin to dwindle.
The shelter also prides itself on education. It’s mission statement is about raising awareness and educating the public on how to be responsible pet owners. Daly says half the battle in combating overpopulation is educating people to spay or neuter their pets.
Daly is an animal awareness veteran. He has more than 20 years’ experience in veterinary clinics and animal shelters and was once an animal cruelty investigator.
It’s no easy task taking care of all the animals that Pet Pal does, and it relies solely on donations, Daly said.
The shelter holds an annual silent and live auction event, called Puppy Love. Anywhere from 400 to 600 people attend the event. It is the facility’s major fund-raiser, Daly said.
Pet Pal also operates a thrift store at 1500 34th St. N in St. Petersburg. The proceeds from sales help run the shelter.
Pet Pal also gets a great amount of assistance for the Rays baseball team.
“We are very grateful for the Rays,” Daly said.
Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays are advocates for the animal shelter. Every season Longoria donates $100 to Pet Pal for every home run he hits.
The Rays also do a calendar every year that features shelter animals alongside Rays players and their dogs. Proceeds from those sales go to the shelter. The 2015 calendar, which costs $20, is available at Pet Pal, the Rays team store in Tampa or by mail by calling (813) 228-7157.
Want to know more?
Visit Pet Pal’s website at petpalanimalshelter.com
