Monthly DART Meeting
Tuesday, July 27th at 7:00pm

Location: SPCA Tampa Bay – 9099 130th Ave – N – Largo, FL
Topic: Pet Friendly Sheltering Procedures and Protocols
Please RSVP, if you plan on attending pamburnsdart@gmail.com

SART Weekend of Training is a Success!

This month's edition includes articles from David Perry, Pam Burns and John Haven. The pictures are awesome! Click here to read more.

Oil Spill Info and Volunteer Ops

For current information as well as volunteer opportunities in Pinellas County:  http://www.pinellascounty.org/oilspill2010.htm

Keep Pinellas Beautiful is working with the US Coast Guard, and the Pinellas County emergency response team to pre register volunteers to do beach clean ups in the event of oil from the spill reaching our coast line. We have been asked to clean the beaches within 72 hours of oil reaching our shores. We need volunteers to pre register so we can remove any trash and debris from the beaches before oil comes ashore. If you are interested please go to our web site and preregister. Go to www.keeppinellasbeautiful.org to read the plan and to register.

Bay Area DART hits the newsstand!
Click here to view
the first edition!

Volunteer Roster & In-kind Donation Form

Click here to complete the online form to volunteer your time or to donate goods and services.

Click on the DONATE button below to make an online cash donation to the DART fund.

Bay Area DART'S First Official Fundraiser!

Click here to see the flyer.

Pet First Aid Kits $10.00
Order Online Now!

For sale in at SPCA Tampa Bay and online. We ship! Click here for more information.

Pet Friendly Shelters

In Pinellas County, three shelters are designated pet friendly. DART volunteers are committed to open, staff and close each one in the event evacuations are ordered. Pinellas County Animal Services and Law Enforcement will also be on hand.

• Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, St. Petersburg
• Oakgrove Middle School, Clearwater
• Dunedin Highland Middle School, Dunedin
  

Other pet friendly shelters in the Bay Area:

• Hillsborough County
  • Sickles High School
  • Bartels Middle School
  • Burnett Middle School
  • Shields Middle School
• Sarasota County
  • North Port High School
  • Heron Creek Middle School
  • Brookside Middle School
• Pineview  Elementary School
• Desoto County
• The hotels in Arcadia are all pet friendly.
• Pasco County
• Pineview Middle school in Land o’ Lakes
• Pets are at Pineview High School and across the street is where the owners shelter.
• Marion County
• Forest High School
• They will open additional if needed.
• Manatee County
  • They can open two shelters. Two additional shelters can be opened if needed

Animal Services Calls for Volunteers to Help with Pet Pick-ups from Special Needs Citizens During Evacuations

Volunteers will serve as auxiliary Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) members to help transport pets of special needs citizens to safe, predetermined locations. Those interested in volunteering should call Greg Andrews, operations manager at Pinellas County Animal Services, at (727) 582-2623. Helpers will need to fill out Pinellas County volunteer applications and must complete training facilitated by the Bay Area DART Team. This service will help special needs citizens who might otherwise decide not to evacuate because of their pets.

This service can help them feel more comfortable about leaving their homes, knowing their animals are safe. Of course, service animals may go to shelters with special needs citizens, but other pets need to be cared for by making prior arrangements, such as signing up to go to a local animal shelter, or host home. If special needs citizens are already registered with their local fire department and have a pet that they need help evacuating, they should call Pinellas County Animal Services at (727) 582-2600 to register pets for pick-up.

The Pinellas County Special Needs/Evacuation Assistance Program is for residents requiring minimal medical assistance and/or who need transportation to a shelter, and pre registration is strongly recommended to ensure that resources are available to transport the pets. Registration forms are available through the mail or online. To learn more about the program for special needs citizens, and/or pet-friendly shelters, call Pinellas County Emergency Management at (727) 464-3800 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/emergency. Citizens may also contact their nearest fire department or home health care provider.

Pinellas County Animal Services is located at 12450 Ulmerton Road in Largo. To learn more about taking care of pets during an evacuation, visit www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices.