ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg animal shelter has paused its major expansion project after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a requested $2 million in state funding.
Friends of Strays Animal Shelter intended to use the state grant to renovate and open a new facility that would significantly expand its capacity to rescue dogs from overcrowded municipal shelters across Florida.
St. Petersburg shelter expansion
What we know:
Friends of Strays Animal Shelter purchased two buildings in 2020 after raising $6 million from the community. The organization successfully renovated and opened its first building, the Cat Box, two years ago.
The vetoed $2 million was earmarked to renovate the Milkey Bone Dog House next door, which would more than triple the shelter's current dog capacity. Currently, the facility can only house up to 12 smaller dogs, limiting its ability to assist 30 partner shelters across Florida.
The exterior sign at the Friends of Strays Animal Shelter located at 2911 47th Ave. N.. The organization previously raised $6 million to acquire its properties but faces delays opening its secondary dog rescue facility next door.
"We focus on animals in county shelters, municipal shelters, private non-profits that don't have the resources that they need to save lives," CEO Dara Worthington said. "So, we bring animals in from those shelters and truly save their lives here at Friends of Strays," she said.
Florida budget cuts
What we don't know:
Officials have not yet confirmed if Friends of Strays will seek alternative private donors or corporate sponsorships to make up for the budget shortfall immediately. It remains unclear how other local infrastructure and community projects in St. Petersburg fared during this round of state vetoes.
State funding decisions
What they're saying:
DeSantis addressed his budget vetoes last Monday.
"There are a variety of things," DeSantis said. "Some of the stuff wasn't necessarily bad. It's just, I set a target to be underneath current year budget. So, we had to get to that level. And some of the things were plausible, but you just have to make decisions," he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signs state budget documents. DeSantis vetoed a $2 million state grant earmarked for a local St. Petersburg animal shelter expansion, citing a target to remain under the current year's budget.
Worthington highlighted the severe stakes for overcrowded facilities statewide.
"These smaller shelters that we partner with, they have to make decisions every day about euthanasia because of time and space. We can't allow that to happen in a state that is really drowning in the number of animals that are euthanized every day," Worthington said.
Future rescue operations
What's next:
Worthington stated that the shelter intends to ask the state for the $2 million expansion grant again next year.
A puppy sits on a colorful blanket inside a temporary enclosure. Due to space limitations, Friends of Strays can currently only house up to 12 smaller dogs at a time, capping the support it can offer to overcrowded regional partners.
"Obviously, I was disappointed," she said. "We have space in this building right now for about 12 dogs at the most, and that's mostly smaller dogs. So, it limits the amount of support that we can give to other shelters. But we're not going to stop doing what we're doing. We are here to save lives every day and we're here to save lives in our own backyard and in the state of Florida."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Friends of Strays Animal Shelter CEO Dara Worthington, who explained the operational impacts of the funding loss, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who detailed his state budget criteria.