TAMPA, Fla. — We may be in the month of August, but if you work at an animal rescue, you might call it Dogust.
It’s the month shelters like to remind the public that there are so many cute, furry animals in need of adoption.
When Heydi Acuna and Nash Bandayan first met back in 2017, they had two major things in common, they’re both immigrants, and they love their four-legged friends.
“The first time he came to my house, I had about 19 dogs in my apartment, so right there, he knew what he was getting into,” said Acuna, who immigrated from Colombia in 2009.
Several of their dates were actually spent volunteering with various animal rescues, when they thought, why not start their own nonprofit?
“Every single morning, waking up I say, ‘good morning America,’ good morning to my family, I enjoy life here, and I’m trying to do my best to at least give back to this beautiful country,” said Nash Bandayan, who immigrated here from Iraq in 2014.
In 2019 they founded the Mercy Full Project, located in North Hyde Park.
“One of the first things we put up was the American Flag,” said Bandayan.
The mission is to get dogs and cats out of cages and into the foster care system while they await a forever home.
“We are going to start this organization, we are going to get families to open the doors of their homes, and we are going to convenience them to help us care for the dogs and cats that are out there in need,” said Acuna.
“So I currently have six fosters, that's four puppies and two cats. We are learning more about the dogs and to better place them in the right homes,” said foster mom Bethany Alfonso.
In the past three years, the Mercy Full Project has helped find 1,200 dogs and cats new families. They were even featured on Good Morning America in recognition of Dogust.
“They gave us an amazing surprise of a $5,000 donation, and they promoted some of our animals as well,” said Acuna.
This husband and wife team also like to take animals in need out into the community to pet friendly locations. You never know where you might stumble upon your next foster family or permanent home.
“Being able to connect the community with the rescue and just being another filter within our community we love to help Mercy Full Project,” said Yushira Budhran with Aleyr Pet Store.
For more information on the nonprofit, click here.
