Friends to the furry and feathered

Kids in the Moon Lake gifted program help out the residents of the SPCA Suncoast shelter.

By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 17, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Michele Miller | Times] Allana Nolen, 8, left, and Brittany Francis, 10, dote on Big Momma, a friendly American pit bullterrier, at a special meet and greet held at the SPCA Suncoast shelter in New Port Richey. Ileah Lisiecki, 10, and Tia Coffman, 8, watch.

NEW PORT RICHEY - The sign at the SPCA Suncoast shelter said it all.

"Thank you Moon Lake Elementary" was the greeting that had the 32 kids in grades 3-5 getting giddy as their bus pulled up to the shelter for a very special field trip.

Then there was the enthusiastic welcome from the shelter's director, Martha Murray, who stood at the entrance with Princess, a rather full-figured and very congenial Boston terrier mix:

"You kids rock!"

The field trip to the shelter was the final payoff, the culmination ofa community service project students in the gifted program at Moon Lake began soon after the start of the school year.

The kids raised $900 by racking up pledges for a read-a-thon.

"My grandma took the form to work, so I got like 20 bucks," said 10-year-old Brittany Francis, who has a special fondness for animals. Her family keeps five cats, 11 dogs, a ferret, a rabbit and four hamsters on their 3-acre spread.

The class earned another $40 by making bookmarks and selling them at the school book fair for 25 cents apiece. They urged their parents, relatives and other students to kick in for an animal food drive. When they were done, they had collected enough cash and donations to deliver about $1,500 worth of pet food, cat litter and the like to the shelter.

After parent volunteers unloaded two pickup trucks filled to the brim, the students emerged, carrying other donations that had been stashed on the bus, mostly paper towels and garbage bags - the kinds of things you need to have stockpiled when caring for more than 300 animals needing a place to stay.

Then they were treated to a tour of the shelter and a special "meet-and-greet" session.

"We told them to pick out the one they wanted and then come back for them with their parents," said teacher Susan Bakley, who coordinated the service project with fellow teacher Anthony Engle.

The timing for the field trip was perfect, Bakley said. "October is National Adopt-a-Dog Month."

No doubt those who work at the shelter would like to find "forever homes" for the animals that have been taken in or picked up as strays. On the day of the field trip, the head count was about 200 cats, 160 dogs, a handful of birds and a couple of rabbits, named Bunny and JJ.

While adoptions take place throughout the week, some of the animals tend to stay on a while at the no-kill shelter.

Jenna, a black and white Great Dane that has been living there for about six months.

"She's a gentle giant," said general manager Devilyn Saunders. "She's skittish of some dogs but she's good with people. Good with children."

Then there's Big Momma, a very energetic and friendly American pit bullterrier that tops 100 pounds. She appears to be about 3 years old, but no one knows for sure because she was picked up by the New Port Richey Police Department.

The trip was an eye-opener for many of the children, one that touched many senses - particularly the olfactory kind during a trip through the kennels.

"The good part is that I think we actually helped," said William Verbeke, 10.

"I can sleep well at night," said Allen Reman, 10, "knowing that these animals have something to eat."

Fast facts

To learn more

- SPCA Suncoast is a nonkill animal shelter located at 7734 Congress St., New Port Richey. For information on available pets or to donate, call the Suncoast SPCA at (727) 849-1048 or visit www.spcasuncoast.org.

- SPCA will host a Responsible Pit Bull Ownership Day for the community Saturday. For information about time and place, call the shelter.

[Last modified October 16, 2007, 20:20:32]