Our shelter, like the majority of those throughout our state and country, is once again beyond capacity for our dog population. We have 213 dogs in care, no vacant kennels in our main dog building and our intake area is housing 10 dogs who are waiting for a spot to open up.
Adoptions, rescue placement and reclaims cannot keep pace with the number of animals coming in. We know our community cares strongly for these homeless pets and so we’re asking for help, for people to adopt, to foster or simply to share this message.
We have two adoption promotions at the moment, one that reduces fees for our “Gold Medal Favorites” (pets that have been in care four weeks and longer) and another that waives fees entirely for teachers and school personnel. Our standard adoption fees are $55 for dogs and $40 for cats, which includes the spay/neuter, initial vaccines and microchip identification.
With more than 300 pets here in total, we will find the match for anyone who enters our doors with an open heart. We have pets of all ages, sizes, breed and personalities. Visit today to see who speaks to you.
View all available pets and find out more about our adoption process on our website: ocnetpets.com.
What’s in a breed? It seems every day, the shelter gets questions about specific breeds, designer breeds, fashionable breeds. So many dogs under our care are judged before they are even taken out of their kennels. Stigmatized by the way they look. Written off because of their breed. Never once given a chance to prove all the misconceptions wrong. What is it about breed that makes one dog “better” than another, without knowing a single thing about the animal? Why are dogs judged by their breed and not by their hearts? There are over two hundred dogs currently under our care. Two hundred dogs that are here because they were once adorable puppies, and now they aren't. Two hundred dogs that were abandoned, abused, dropped off, surrendered. Every single one of them with their own story. Every single one of them with one hope in their hearts: to find a good home. The shelter does not breed designate, but just for today, we wanted to show our community how we label these dogs. How we see them. In our eyes there are no breeds, just good dogs that need a second chance at a good life. So come visit the us with an open mind and an open heart, and meet our Alaskan Jumping Bean, Hawaiian Snuggler 3000, and our Wire Haired Wiggle Butt. Because these are the only breeds we recognize here at the shelter. Let’s get them all seen. Let’s get them all home.
For some dogs, people will line up outside our doors for hours. For some dogs, people will argue and fight each other. For some dogs, the shelter will get hundreds of emails and phone calls, begging to be the ones to adopt. And then there are the other dogs. The dogs nobody wants. The forgotten ones. The neglected ones. The undesirable ones. Dogs like Baby Girl (A541977). No one is lining up outside for hours for this sweet senior. No one is fighting for her. No one is begging to adopt her. And it’s heartbreaking. Baby Girl is a senior at 9 years old. Back in February, she was found trying to cross the interstate by a resident and was brought to our shelter. That was four months ago, technically making her our longest resident. She is sweet and gentle with people, and has shared her space with other dogs. And she has also reacted negatively to little dogs, and loud dogs. Baby Girl isn’t perfect; but no dog is. We don’t know anything about her past life, or how long she was a stray. But we do know one thing, she deserves better than spending her senior years inside our kennels. Let’s get her seen. Let’s get her home.
Billie A455249
Meet our longest cat resident, Billie (A455249). This beautiful 9-year-old was surrendered to our shelter after six years in her home as they felt her behavior was too challenging to manage. Billie has a behavior that we sometimes lovingly refer to as “spicy.” She’s the kind of cat who wants affection from certain people, at certain times, only on her terms. She has firm boundaries, and we respect that. As you can see in this video, she can be a sweetheart and very accepting of affection.
She’s on the larger side at 14 pounds, meaning there’s more to love. She has stunning blue eyes, but often prefers to sleep during prime shelter visitation hours so not many people get the chance to see them. Local cat behaviorist Monika Kropp of Feline Logic LLC has offered a free consultation with Billie in her new home, to help set her up for success.
We’ve really grown to love this girl, and we hope we can find someone else that recognizes her worth as well. Billie’s ideal home will be one without other pets or small children, she prefers the quiet, can’t blame her there. Please consider visiting our shelter today to meet her. We’re open between 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. and located at 2769 Conroy Road in Orlando. We will be closed on Monday in honor of the Memorial Day holiday.
Find out more about Billie here: https://bit.ly/3yvc8mK
All weekend long, our shelter, along with 8 other Florida shelters, will be in Plant City for the Mega Adoption event. There will be over 300 dogs available for adoption. And all adoptions, all weekend, are completely free. OCAS has puppies, adult dogs and seniors. And to help reach our goal of getting 150 dogs adopted, the shelter still has lowered adoption rates on all animals. Everything at the shelter will be $10. Come join us! Let’s get them all seen. Let’s get them all home.
Every year, thousands of animals find new homes because of what shelters all over the nation do every day. What does it take to get so many dogs adopted? Everything we got. This year, we have made some amazing connections with places like Boxi Park Lake Nona, to allow us to host adoption events offsite. Because we know events like this one can have a huge impact on our animals. Not only does it get them out of the shelter for a day of sun, love and attention, but it gets them seen by so many more people. We plan on doing a lot more of these adoption events in the coming months for our animals. Our hope is that our community will support us and join us. Let's get them all seen. Let's get them all home.
About a month ago, our officers received a complaint from a resident about a neglected dog. They made multiple attempts to contact the owner to check on the dog, but they were ignored. Finally, they were able to make contact and see the dog, a skinny, fearful but friendly senior girl named Aurora. It was painfully obvious that the dog had been neglected, as she was extremely underweight and covered in fleas. Our officers took action, and the dog was surrendered and brought into the shelter for care. This is how we met Aurora. The toughest part about her story is that Aurora is 13 years old. It’s heartbreaking for a dog to be neglected at any age, but when they are at an advanced age, it’s even harder to comprehend. At 13, this shouldn’t be her life. Aurora should be getting spoiled with treats, doted on, and allowed to spend her days in comfort and surrounded by a loving family. Her every day should be filled with gentle words, treats and stolen kisses. Aurora belongs with a family that is willing to make the last years of her life the best years of her life. But instead, Aurora is at our shelter. And though she is receiving care and affection, she doesn’t know why she is here. She’s terrified and alone. Aurora hides in her kennel every day shaking and crying quietly, and when outside in our play yards, she’s restless and unsure. Though we’re trying to keep her comfortable, we know the shelter is no place for a 13 year old dog. Our hearts break for her, and all we can do is hope. Hope that someone sees this sweet senior and covers her with love. Hope that someone will give her the life she’s probably never known. Let’s get her seen. Let’s get her home.
***KELCE (A541532)***
This sweet boy arrived at the shelter in February with a badly broken leg after being hit by a car while roaming loose as a stray. Our veterinarian performed a leg amputation and he has been recovering in foster care with foster parent Max, since.
Max says " He’s so so sweet at home, he loves to be with people so would do best in a home that can really give him the attention he craves. He's gentle when eating, taking treats, and loves petting.
He does get very easily excitable from cats so he’d probably do better in a home without them, though he did calm down as they were more slowly introduced.
I have my own dog who is 7 pounds in contrast to Kelce's 70 pounds, but Kelce seemed to be aware of this size difference and did not roughhouse play or frighten my smaller dog so it’s safe to say that, provided the introduction process is done properly, he does well with other dogs.
All in all, I’ve never been able to connect with another animal quite on this level that I have with him because he’s so one of a kind, he’s without a doubt the sweetest, most loving being I've had the pleasure of caring for. It’s for sure going to be difficult to watch him go, but he’s so deserving of a loving, energetic family."
If you are interested in adopting Kelce, please email [email protected]. (More photos of Kelce in the comments!)
Join us this Saturday, March 23rd at PetSmart for one of our offsite adoption events. You’ll get to meet longest resident Lincoln (A538798) and his kennel mate Flex (A537816). Those of you who follow us regularly will remember this dynamic duo, as they have been inseparable here at the shelter since they met. They snuggle and sleep together, they go out on walks together, and they absolutely love their play time together. And now they will be offsite together, hoping to be noticed.
Location will be PetSmart at 8219 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32819
Some of our other dogs that will be there, currently in foster care, are Beatrice (A540206) and Freckles (A541280). We’re hoping to get as many visitors as we can, so these amazing dogs could be seen in a different light. All of them will be there from 11am to 1pm. Swing by and meet them, play with them for a bit, and just maybe, you’ll end up adopting love.
Let’s get them seen.
Let’s get them home.
Currently, we have almost 300 animals at our shelter, each hoping that today will be their lucky day. And every day, a lot of these animals are ignored and overlooked. There are dogs that have been here for almost one hundred days with very little adoption interest in them. We’re hoping to change all that. Please join us this Sunday, March 17th, for our first St. Patrick's Day-themed adoption event. We will extend our open hours and reduce our adoption fees. On this one day we will be open from 10 a.m. through 7 p.m., providing extra time to visit the shelter. We will also be reducing all dog and cat adoption fees to $17, which includes the spay/neuter, initial vaccines and microchip identification. For such a small amount, you can change a life, and save one. We ask our community to come out this Sunday, and consider adopting love. Help us spread the word about our event. Help us make Sunday a lucky day for our animals. Help us get them seen, and get them home.
Our speed dating adoption event is still going, and our dogs are having a great time! They will be out here until closing time, hoping to match with their future adopters. It’s not too late to join us today, and adopt love! Every dog that is part of the event is RTG (ready to go), which means they are vaccinated, microchipped and spayed/neutered. And for the month of February, all RTG dogs are completely free. There’s never been a better time to adopt love.
A little over a week ago, we posted Duda’s story. Duda was a confiscation from a cruelty/neglect case, a young dog who spent the bulk of his young life chained outside. At just a year old, he has already spent over 50 days at the shelter, and has been adopted once, and returned almost immediately. As shown in the video above, Duda suffers from barrier frustration. And though our staff and volunteers are very familiar with this, to adopters, it can look like aggression. Duda reacts to anyone and anything whenever a barrier is placed between him and them. But as you can see, the moment the door is opened and contact is made, Duda becomes the sweet and gentle dog we featured before. To people unfamiliar with barrier frustration, this can be startling. We want future adopters to understand that though it will take time and patience, barrier frustration is something that can be worked on. Like a lot of negative behaviors in dogs, the key will be consistency, exercise, training and love. We are trying to help Duda out with this, but of course, not being in a home setting can make it difficult. We just want to be as transparent as we can about his behavior, because we have watched people walk up to his enclosure, and walk away frightened by his reaction. Duda isn’t a bad dog. He isn’t an aggressive dog. We know his past treatment has a lot to do with his behavior now, and we’re trying to change all that for him. The truth is we know a different Duda. We know the sweet and gentle puppy who leans in to every touch, who sits quietly when asked, and wags his tail wildly when he sees a treat. We aren’t saying adopting him will be easy, but we are saying it will be worth it. Duda is young enough to restart his life, and erase his past. He deserves a second chance at happiness. A second chance at life. Let’s get him seen. Let’s get him home.
Meet five year old Banshee (A539932). He came under our care about a week ago, surrendered by his owner’s family with two other dogs. At first, he was like most of the dogs that come through our doors: scared, unsure, and didn’t allow for a lot of interaction. We know most dogs that are thrust into this new environment often need some time to decompress, and Banshee was no exception. After a few days our behaviorist team decided to evaluate him for adoption, and they discovered this unusual quirk. Banshee wants affection, but he is still a little afraid of it. So when he does receive a little love he tends to vocalize loudly. At first we thought it was pain, and then we realized it only happened when someone went to pet him. But when we stopped petting him, he would timidly seek out more affection. At first he would shy away from touch, but now he accepts it, followed by a little scream. And he does this every time. We don’t know if this is just him, or if this is something he has developed from being fearful here. But we love that he’s trying, and slowly letting us into his well-guarded heart. There’s a sweet dog in there, and we’re hoping to draw him out. We don’t mind at all if he has to scream a little to let his love shine through. There’s not a lot we know about this gentle boy, as he has only been here a short time. We haven’t had a chance to do much with him, as we have been completely overwhelmed with animals. But Banshee definitely stands out, and we couldn’t help but share this interesting characteristic. We hope someone out there finds it as endearing as we do, because Banshee deserves it. Let’s get him seen. Let’s get him home.
Today is the day! Beautiful Gandalf is celebrating his 6th birthday and he will be outside all day long. Gandalf is our unofficial longest resident, having been under our care since August of last year. He is an amazing dog, good with other dogs and great with people. We have no idea why he continues to be overlooked. If you have some time today, or if you’re at the shelter, stop in and say hi to this gentle and affectionate boy. We are hoping that this birthday bash will introduce Gandalf to a lot more possible adopters, so that they see what we see every day. And maybe, just maybe, someone will fall in love with this old soul. Let’s get him seen. Let’s get him home.
We are trying everything we can for these two. It’s heartbreaking to watch two beautiful dogs spend day after day at the shelter and just be overlooked. We get it, they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. But we are still hoping against hope that there is someone out there that will see what we see. We know there’s someone out there for Simoni and Crunch. We just haven’t reached them yet. It’s not too late to meet them today, as the shelter will be open until 6pm. Let’s get them seen. Let’s get them home.
Barktoberfest 2023
Barktoberfest begins at 12 pm today at Lake Eola Park. Our tenth annual rescue appreciation event offers dozens of rescue groups, vendors and food trucks. Our mobile clinic is onsite offering FREE rabies vaccinations, microchips and we also have 74 bags of dog food to give away while supplies last. We’re set for a beautiful afternoon that you won’t want to miss! Join us through 4 pm today.
Our Fifth Annual Furry Fall Festival was in full effect today! Staff came through with amazing costumes; we had delicious food from our vendors Maya’s Merienda and Asian Street Foods and Chill in Tacos Ice Cream Taqueria, and the shelter was decked out in fun and spooky décor. This is indeed one of our favorite events. So far today, over 20 animals have been adopted and given that second chance at happiness. We’d like to give a huge shout out to all our adopters, staff and volunteers who participated in this event, as well as to all the adopters that came to visit and take part in the festivities. It was a great deal of fun for everyone involved!
Don’t forget tomorrow is our fifth annual Furry Fall Festival! Join us once again in celebrating our community and promoting adoptions. On Wednesday, October 25th, from 2pm to 6pm we will open our doors to some spooky fun. Adoption fees will be waived for that entire day, for every animal in our care. We will have a food truck, music, spooky activities for the kids, staff in costumes and of course, all the adorable adoptable pets you can shake a broomstick at. Come adopt love!
We featured Benny (A533175) a few days ago, when he was part of an offsite adoption event for some of our foster dogs. Sadly, this sweet senior was not one of the dogs adopted that day. We thought we’d give him another chance on our Foster Friday feature. Benny is nine years old, goofy, and a whopping 16lbs. He loves his treats and he is good with people, dogs, and even cats. It’s actually rare that we’re able to say that about any dog, but Benny’s foster mom has sent us pictures of Benny and the resident cat napping together in perfect harmony. She recently sent us this update: “Benny likes to dance for his food. He also likes to hide his bones, but that's a secret so I usually find them afterwards. He isn't much of a photo hound. When his attention is zeroed in on something, he doesn't like to look away.” Our hearts soar seeing Benny so happy, and dancing for his food. We know his time in foster care has been extremely beneficial, but we’re hoping to get him into a more permanent situation. Benny is a senior, but he’s still got plenty of energy and heart. If interested in adopting Benny, please reach out to us here: [email protected] Let’s get him seen. Let’s get him home.
