Raining Cats and Dogs Shelter and Sanctuary was founded in 2017 by Laura Santo, rescue president. She wanted to start a rescue that accepted pets that were not considered highly adoptable and would provide a forever home for pets that are unadoptable or slow to be adopted due to age, health or temperament.
Raining Cats and Dogs Shelter and Sanctuary is a nonprofit located at 2708 E. SR 60 in Plant City. It is 100 percent volunteer-run. While they accept owner relinquishment, they are not an open-admission shelter. According to Leslie Donegan, volunteer coordinator, “We partner with municipal shelters and accept at-risk pets. At-risk pets are not available for adoption to the public and are determined by the municipal shelter to be available to rescues only because of age, health or temperament.”
Raining Cats and Dogs Shelter and Sanctuary has a foster program for puppies, kittens and nursing mothers. Donegan said, “We place animals into foster care that are recovering from surgery. We have a hospice foster program for senior pets to live out their final days in a loving home. All other pets are at the shelter so they have the best chance of being seen by potential adopters and finding their forever homes.”
Donegan added, “Our shelter is different from municipal shelters because we have no paid employees or receive tax-payer funding. We operate strictly off of donations and volunteer labor. Our volunteers get to know and love our shelter pets. We strive to find a forever home for each shelter pet, no matter how long that takes. Our goal is to match an adopter with the right pet for their family, which is often not the pet that may have initially brought the adopter to our shelter.”
Raining Cats and Dogs Shelter and Sanctuary offers meet and greets and adoptions for approved adopters by appointment only. It also has a Yappy Hour on Saturdays at the shelter from 4-5 p.m. which is open to the public.
As it is an all-volunteer organization, it welcomes student volunteers ages 12-15 if accompanied by a parent. Students over 16 can volunteer without a parent. It is also in need of volunteers who are willing to make a weekly commitment to help with daily tasks of running the shelter.
For more information, please visit www.rainingcatsanddogsshelter.com or call 813-704-4915.
