Saturday, December 8, 2012

PHOTO TOUR: Harbor House's Paws for Peace kennel opens

While a everyone went gaga over the grand opening of New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World, much further north in Orange County, I joined a group of community leaders a very different grand opening.

Harbor House Board of Directors President Janet Ziomek, Orange County Animal Services Division Manager Dil Luther, SeaWorld Orlando VP of Marketing Toni Caracciolo, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, and Harbor House CEO Carol Wick cut the ribbon on the Paws for Peace kennel.

Harbor House of Central Florida opened its new Paws for Peace kennel and in-kind donation center Thursday, after years of fund raising and planning.

Sadly, this kind of facility is desperately needed.

The Harbor House says up to 48 percent of domestic violence victims delay getting out of their bad situation because they don't want to leave their pets. And up until this week, Harbor House had no place for pets. Across the country, only 70 domestic violence shelters accept pets at all.

Back in October Life With Beagle helped organize Doggy Day Out Orlando, which collected donations for this very facility.

And in November I walked in the Paws for Peace walk, and raised about $150 for Harbor House.

This is why we did all that. And take a close look at the following pictures... you may recognize some of the things you donated.

A 2,100 square-foot warehouse will hold in-kind donations. Harbor House goes through thousands, if not millions of items every year. Not only do they need to keep their facilities stocked, they also help families start over. Many escape without more than the clothes on their backs.


A section for pet items.

In the shelter itself, a pantry for food.
This sink is part of a full-service grooming area. Hollywood Houndz in Lake Mary helped provide the equipment and volunteers.
Two sets of these cat condos! There's room for 10 cats to live comfortably. They are working on getting a multi-story condo for cat families.


A cat porch! Owners can sit out here with their cats and relax.
What are they watching on the cat porch? The dog park!
There are 10 of these kennels for the dogs. And each have a bed, dishes and something to chew on.
And finally, dog runs. For when the dog just has to go.

 The Paws for Peace kennel and Harbor House could still use some donations. If you are interested in helping, head to the Harbor House website.

8 comments :

  1. Wow this looks really cool! What a wonderful facility for pets and their families.

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    1. I was amazed at how it came out. It is a lot like a boarding facility than a shelter.

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  2. So awesome of you to help raise funds for this facility!

    Garth

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  3. Two paws up for this awesome facility, for all the volunteers and donors and for you for dedication to Harbor House and its (sadly) much-needed mission!

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    1. There are only 70 like this in the country? That's the really sad part. What would it take to get more places like this elsewhere?

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  4. Thanks for sharing! It's nice to know that you and so many others care and are working to make a difference in the lives of people and animals. :)

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