Suncoast Animal League's Dreaming of a Fixed PinellasPhoto/text by Renee Burrell
Santa and friend, Bebop the boxer Dunedin - Suncoast Animal League (SAL) volunteers were busy working to help homeless and rescued pets last weekend during Dunedin's Old Fashioned Christmas celebration. Friday they held "Brighten Their Future", a lighting ceremony in Pioneer Park. Santa joined the effort Saturday and Sunday by posing with area pets and their owners for a portrait fundraiser. In addition to placing pets with adopting families and counseling owners with pets behaving badly to prevent abandonment, the SAL is striving to raise funds to open a low cost spay/neuter clinic to fix the pet overpopulation problem in the county. SAL's website posts some startling numbers for Pinellas. Last year 53,439 cats and dogs were put to sleep at the Bay area's three animal services--85% of the cats were put to death, costing taxpayers $14,622,799.00. SAL plans to reduce those numbers. But, they estimate the cost for the clinic to be approximately $150,000.00. "We can put an animal shelter on every corner and do nothing more than fill the shelters without solving the problem," they reason. "Animal shelters may provide temporary housing for these unwanted cats and dogs but their space is limited. Some will find wonderful homes (9,153 were adopted from the three bay area animal services), most will not (53,439 euthanized). Shelters will boast about those who do and remain "mum" about those who do not. It's not their fault, they are facing overwhelming odds. We know that we will never "adopt" our way out of this overpopulation problem and euthanizing thousands of animals every year is unacceptable." SAL is located at 1030 Pennsylvania Ave. in Palm Harbor. If giving during the holidays to a cause that keeps on giving and you'd like to "FIX" Pinellas, or simply present them with some items on their Wish List, go online to: www.suncoastanimalleague.org. Or phone (727) 786-1330 for more information.
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