PET OWNERS CAN TURN TO THE HILLSBOROUGH PET RESOURCE CENTER IN TIMES OF NEED

The Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center, located at 440 N. Falkenberg Rd. in Tampa, is the only open-admission facility in the county. This means that they will accept any cat or dog regardless of breed, size and medical condition. No animal is ever turned away.

Scott Trebatoski is the director of the Resource Center. About eight years ago, the name was changed to the current name. Trebatoski explained, “We want all pet owners to know that we are the first-place pets. We are here to help, and if we cannot, we will refer the owner to somewhere that can.”

Prior to the pandemic, under Trebatoski’s direction, the Pet Resource Center developed a pet retention program. Trebatoski explained, “We work with individual pet owners for the purpose of making sure the owner can retain the pet. If the owner feels they need to give up the pet due to reasons such as financial issues, we will work to get the pet stable and keep them in the shelter, or, if we need to, send the pet to a foster home. The owner can then get the pet back once their issues are resolved.”

In addition to this program, if a pet