Tampa mayor adopts shelter dog for office

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – There is someone new in the mayor’s office.

“If I had a fraction of her energy, this office would be on fire,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

She tells 8 On Your Side she recently adopted a rescue dog, Alcaldesa, from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.

“I asked them if they would get us an office dog that we could test drive around here and the one stipulation was that the dog had to be friendly, so we have got a friendly dog here,” said Mayor Castor.

Alcaldesa, which means mayoress in Spanish, is now the official dog of the Tampa City Hall.

“She just brings a smile to everybody’s face and it changes your day. You walk through the door in the morning and everyone sees her, comes up, pets her and that’s how conversations start and that’s how morale improves,” said Mayor Castor.

The mayor has been a long-time supporter of adopting rescues. Currently, thousands of pets are looking for their forever homes. Hundreds of shelters across the country are set to participate in Clear the Shelters, a nationwide pet adoption drive on Saturday, in an effort to help find loving homes for animals in need.

“All of my dogs are rescues and it’s important, the dogs are there and they need a loving home. Let’s go in and find a forever home for a dog from a shelter. Let’s go in and find a forever home for a dog from a shelter,” said Mayor Castor.

Here are some of the local shelters that are offering no-cost or reduced-fee adoptions for the Clear the Shelters event:

1. Citrus County Animal Services – 4030 S. Airport Rd, Inverness
2. Humane Society of Polk County – 3195 Dundee Road Winter, Haven
3. Barking Out Loud Rescue, Inc – 300 N Lake Drive, Lorida
4. Paw Warriors, Inc. – 355 Spring Time Street, Spring Hill
5. SPCA Florida – 5850 Brannen Rd S, Lakeland
6. Friends of Strays Animal Shelter – 2911 47th Avenue North, St. Petersburg
7. Pinellas County Animal Services – 12450 Ulmerton Road, Largo
8. SPCA of Hernando County – 9075 Grant St, Brooksville
9. Humane Society of Tampa Bay – 3607 N Armenia Avenue, Tampa
10. SPCA Tampa Bay – 9099 130th Ave North, Largo
11. Highlands County Sheriffs Animal Services – 7300 Haywood Taylor Blvd, Sebring
12. St. Francis Animal Rescue – 1925 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice
13. FLUFF Animal Rescue – 11220 Park Blvd N, Seminole
14. Manatee County Animal Services: Palmetto Shelter – 305 25th St W, Palmetto
15. Manatee County Cat Town – 216 6th Ave E, Bradenton
16. Pasco County Animal Services – 19640 Dogpatch Lane, Land O’Lakes
17. St. Francis Society, Inc. – Pet Smart – 12835 Citrus Plaza Dr, Tampa
18. The Humane Society of the Nature Coast – 7200 Mobley Road, Brooksville
19. Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center – 440 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa
20. Humane Society of Manatee County – 2515 14th Street W, Bradenton
21. Save Our Strays Inc. Safety Harbor, FL – 3223 San Jose Street, Clearwater
22. Polk County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Section – 7115 De Castro Rd, Winter Haven
23. Hernando County Animal Services – 19450 Oliver St., Brooksville
24. Bishop Animal Shelter SPCA of Manatee County, FL – 5718 21st Ave W, Bradenton
25. Humane Society of Pinellas, 3040 State Road 590, Clearwater
26. Rescue Cats of Florida, 211 West Alexander Street, Plant City
27. Precious Paws Rescue, 5164 S. Florida Avenue (Route 41), Inverness
28. Hands Helping Paws Rescue, 53 West Bay Boulevard South, Lake Wales
29. Cat Kids Rescue, 10500 Ulmerton Road, Suite 308, Largo
30. Suncoast Animal League, 1030 Pennsylvania Ave., Palm Harbor
31. Cat Haven Rescue of Tampa-Pasco County, 1231 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Wesley Chapel
32. Cat Haven Rescue of Pasco County, 8529 Little Road, New Port Richey
33. Suncoast Humane Society, 6781 San Casa Drive, Englewood
34. Rebels Rescue, 11665 W Hillsborough Ave., Tampa
35. Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch, 26920 Gopher Hill Road, Myakka city
36. Cat Crusaders, Inc, 6248 Commerce Palms Drive, Tampa
37. SPCA Suncoast, 7734 Congress St., New Port Richey
38. Rescue Cats of Florida, 3313 Lithia Pinecrest Road, Valrico
39. Countless Cats Rescue Inc., 3139 Duane Avenue, Oldsmar
40. Cat Call Inc, Pet Smart 1051 W Brandon Blvd, Brandon
41. Cat Call Inc, 11331 Causeway Blvd, Brandon