Bay Area DART| DISASTER ANIMAL RESPONSE TEAM

a division of Sumter Disaster Animal Response Team, Inc.

Become a Bay Area DART Member!

Anyone with a love for animals can become a member of Bay Area DART. There is no membership fee. We ask that our members try to attend as many meetings as possible, donate a couple of hours of their time per month working on various animal related committee projects, and attend periodic training sessions to strengthen our team’s knowledge and skills.

If you want to get more involved helping animals in your community contact Pam Burns, Volunteer Coordinator at pamburnsdart@gmail.com.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dash for DART

On December 31, 2011, DART volunteers and supporters gathered at J.B. Starkey Park in New Port Richey with their dogs for a race to benefit Bay Area DART. This 1st annual race was the brainchild of two of our members, Elaine Anthony and Pam Dickens. They did a great job pulling this together and designing awesome race shirts! On top of that, the event raised $1,300 for DART!

Volunteer Roster &
In-kind Donation Form

Click here and complete the online form to volunteer
your time or donate goods and services.

Holiday Letter to DART Volunteers

Greetings friends, I hope this letter finds each and every one of you preparing for Joyous Holidays with family and friends, and for those of you that are still deployed; my Christmas wish is that you will find your way home before the holidays so you can celebrate with your families. For those of you who will be caring for the animals during the Holidays, Thank you! There are not enough words to convey the sacrifices that you make for those animals in their times of need.
Click here to read more...

Second Annual DART Fun Run

Fletcher's Harley Davidson hosted the 2nd Annual DART Fun Run and helped raise over $2,800 for the DART team!  Thank you to those wonderful organizations who provided stops to our bikers along the way.  The organizations opened their doors and allowed our bikers a chance to tour their facility and give people the opportunity to see what great work they do for our Tampa Bay community! Click here to read more...

DART in the News

September 2011: Bay Area DART and Sumter DART assisted HSI Canada with the care and adoption of more than 500 dogs from a commercial breeding facility in the largest such seizure in Canadian history. Click here to see the video by HSI.

Photo Courtesy of Kathy Milani/The HSUS

February 2011: Cynthia Smoot from Fox13 rides along with Laura and JT Fletcher on a 30-hour trek to save 68 dogs.

Visit Sumter DART

Volunteer Handbook

Click here for a copy of the
Bay Area DART Volunteer Handbook

We met Rescue Ink!

Florida SARC Weekend of Training is a Success!

This edition includes articles from David Perry, Pam Burns and John Haven. The pictures are awesome! Click here to read more

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Animal Services Calls for Volunteers to Help with Pet Pick-ups from Special Needs Citizens During Evacuations

Volunteers will serve as auxiliary Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) members to help transport pets of special needs citizens to safe, predetermined locations. Those interested in volunteering should call Pinellas County Animal Services, at (727) 582-2623. Helpers will need to fill out Pinellas County volunteer applications and must complete training facilitated by the Bay Area DART Team. This service will help special needs citizens who might otherwise decide not to evacuate because of their pets.

This service can help them feel more comfortable about leaving their homes, knowing their animals are safe. Of course, service animals may go to shelters with special needs citizens, but other pets need to be cared for by making prior arrangements, such as signing up to go to a local animal shelter, or host home. If special needs citizens are already registered with their local fire department and have a pet that they need help evacuating, they should call Pinellas County Animal Services at (727) 582-2600 to register pets for pick-up.

The Pinellas County Special Needs/Evacuation Assistance Program is for residents requiring minimal medical assistance and/or who need transportation to a shelter, and pre registration is strongly recommended to ensure that resources are available to transport the pets. Registration forms are available through the mail or online. To learn more about the program for special needs citizens, and/or pet-friendly shelters, call Pinellas County Emergency Management at (727) 464-3800 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/emergency. Citizens may also contact their nearest fire department or home health care provider.

Pinellas County Animal Services is located at 12450 Ulmerton Road in Largo. To learn more about taking care of pets during an evacuation, visit www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices.