SAFE FROM THE STORM HSTB cares for pregnant stray and newborn puppies through hurricane Ian

As one of Florida’s deadliest hurricanes in history was forming in the tropics, a one-year-old, stray Chinese Shar-Pei was found roaming the streets, heavily pregnant and alone. “Mila” was brought to the shelter where we found she was also suffering from severe infection in both ears and Entropion in both eyes (a painful condition where eyelashes curl inward and scratch the eyes). Thankful that she had been found before the storm hit, we tucked Mila safely into our puppy nursery to prepare for birth.

The puppy nursery at HSTB is an essential tool for providing pregnant and nursing mothers an isolated, quiet space to safely nest, birth, and nurture their babies. Mila settled in well and gave birth to six healthy puppies just days after arriving. Our staff provided her with extra care and attention; Kim Valdiviezo, our Medical Services Manager, even sat with her for the three-hour labor, providing comfort and assistance to the new family. Mila was a natural mother, feeding, cleaning, and snuggling them like a pro.

Just one day after Mila gave birth, hurricane Ian was hurtling toward Tampa. We could not imagine what would have happened if they’d still been living outside at this dangerous time. While Tampa Bay was incredibly lucky to have missed the brunt of Ian, the storm still raged and the decision was made that staff and volunteers would stay at the shelter all night with the animals. Thankfully, because the shelter was built to withstand up to a category four storm, Mila, her puppies, and all of the animals in our care were insulated from the frightening sounds of wind and rain. They slept peacefully through the night with staff keeping watch.

In the weeks since the storm, Mila and her puppies have been thriving in the nursery. Mom and pups are recovering and growing with plenty of space to play and socialize. The staff makes sure that Mila enjoys relaxing “Mommy-Time” away from her pups every day. The family will be ready for adoption just in time to be home for the holidays!

KENNEL CRISIS

Tampa Bay adopters step up to help shelter in time of need

Early this fall we faced a crisis that no shelter wants to face: our dog kennels were completely full. In fact, we were doubling up in many kennels so that we didn’t have to turn animals away. As a managed admission shelter (no-kill for space) we do not euthanize adoptable animals in order to make room for more; we were faced with the difficult decision to shut the doors to new strays and ownersurrendered dogs. This is something that HSTB hasn’t done in more than a decade. For months, there had been an increase in animal drop-offs. This could be attributed to the economy, the uptick in people moving to Tampa, and most recently, hurricane Ian.

Whatever the reason, we knew the Tampa Bay community would help. We put out the call for people to adopt and waived adoption fees for dogs over 30 pounds.

Through the website and social media, we updated the community on the situation and asked those considering getting a dog to come to the shelter to meet some lovable and deserving dogs. Over the next four days, with countless media pleas and social media shares, the Tampa Bay community came out to the shelter in droves and 82 big dogs were adopted into their forever homes! Many of these adopters didn’t even realize the adoption fees were waived and ended up donating or purchasing items for their new pups at our retail store.

We are in awe of the support the homeless animals consistently receive from this incredible community, and the power we have to make a difference together! After just four days, we were thrilled and relieved to re-open intake services and continue to serve homeless animals.