HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Tampa Bay-area pet shelter is in desperate need of people to foster and adopt cats and dogs.
On Wednesday, the Logan family adopted and took home a new dog from the Pet Resource Center in Hillsborough County.
"Just seemed really relaxed and friendly and calm around kids,” said Vincent Logan.
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"We're excited to bring him home and make him a part of our family,” said Jaclyn Logan.
Their new addition comes at the right time as the shelter is dealing with a full house.
“Since I've been here, which has been several years, this is about the highest I've seen our cat population,” said Chelsea Waldeck, the division director at the Pet Resource Center.
Waldeck said as of Wednesday morning, they're at over 540 percent capacity for cats, with over 300 cats available for adoption and pre-adoption.
"We're at about 245 to 250 dogs, which is well over capacity,” said Waldeck.
Summer is the peak of kitten season, and the shelter's busiest time.
Staff said crowded living conditions can increase the risk of spreading disease and stress out the animals..
“We had our mega-adoption event at the beginning of June, cleared out a whole kennel, and that has now completely filled up, as well as every other open space we had,” said Waldeck. “We are pretty much almost out of kennels here at the shelter.”
If you're in the market for a new pet, they encourage you to come out and adopt. Fostering is always an option as well.
If you're not quite ready for a pet at home, you can share your time and volunteer.
"We're going to surprise you. We have a lot of great animals just looking for great homes,” said Waldeck. “They're sweet animals. They want to play. They want that loving home. They want that couch to cuddle up on."
The Pet Resource Center has temporarily waived all adoption fees for cats and dogs. People can search an online database of pets at the shelter, and then adopt in person at the Pet Resource Center at 440 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa, FL 33619.
The shelter’s hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
People can also sign up to serve as a foster volunteer to help free up space and socialize animals.
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Couples and families who had weddings and events planned at a well-known venue that abruptly closed claim they’re out thousands of dollars and aren’t being given refunds. Annette Irizarry was supposed to hold her 15-year-old daughter’s quinceañera in August at the Clearwater location and said she’s now out the $6,160 she paid. Without that money, Irizarry said she can’t afford to have her daughter’s celebration somewhere else.
