The Humane Society of Tampa Bay

I wanted to take a minute to tell you both how thankful, grateful, amazed I am by the wonderful staff you have in Animal Intake. Helena, Dawn, Jay and the entire crew there. This past Sunday I had a particular situation where those folks (Dawn and Helena specifically) really came through with flying colors and I wanted to share with you.

Darlene forwarded me a message from a military family living in Tampa who will soon be relocating to North Carolina. They have been caring for a feral cat for the 8 years they’ve lived here. They couldn’t imagine leaving him behind, but could not get him trapped and needed help. I trapped the cat Saturday morning and they wanted him tested/vetted before putting him through the upset of the long car ride to NC. Knowing that the clinic doesn’t have sedation on weekends (and this cat is feral), Dawn was very kind to test the kitty over at Intake. Since he was negative, the family wanted to proceed with some vetting. From Intake, we went over to the clinic and the staff there were amazing and fit this kitty in to their very busy schedule and updated his shots, microchipped him, treated ear mites, etc. The family was happy to pay the bill but just had no idea how to go about getting this done. We were all delighted to help people who wouldn’t dream of leaving an elderly feral cat behind. Turns out he was actually a good patient – and didn’t need sedation.

I commend Dawn, Helena and all the staff (Clinic staff as well) for how they always come through for me in a pinch. It seems a weekend doesn’t go by that I don’t have some odd situation that needs addressing and they really do go out of their way, above and beyond the call of duty to help me and the animals. They really are a treasure and their care and compassion really shines through.

I can’t imagine how tough it is to be in their shoes on a lot of days, but they keep on smiling, keep on helping and keep on making a difference for these animals that need help. I am in awe of them!!

~Melanie Jackson