The Pet Walk in downtown St. Petersburg is the biggest fundraiser for SPCA Tampa Bay, an annual celebration of furry loved ones. On Saturday, April 6, SPCA Tampa Bay will hold Pet Walks at North Straub Park in downtown St. Pete (400 Bayshore Dr NE), and at Largo Central Park in Largo (101 Central Park Dr), truly taking over the entire region. The festivities run from 8:30am-noon.

Pet Walk includes a pet-friendly party in the park with music, games, and vendors offering treats, toys and more for your furry friends. Both events offer locals a chance to support the area’s only for-all shelter, while spreading out the fun and making it more accessible to more people throughout Pinellas County and the entire Tampa Bay Area.

Pet-friendly parties in the park across St. Pete and Largo

Whether you choose to start a team and participate, sponsor a loved one’s team, or make a donation to the cause, you’re helping to provide support for hundreds of animals here in our community.

While walking through the park with hundreds of animals is the fun part of Pet Walk, it’s the sponsorship of teams and individuals that helps SPCA Tampa Bay raise the much-needed funding. Participants are able to join the walk either with a team or as an individual, and then recruit others to join their team or sponsor their walk. And to make it easy for those who simply want to give, you can donate directly to the fundraiser through their website.

And if you can’t make it to either location, but still want to lead a team, participants can join as virtual walkers and help support SPCA Tampa Bay. As an added bonus, all participants who raise $25 or more will receive an official 2024 Pet Walk t-shirt and goodie bag, and participants raising $150 or more can select from amazing prizes. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for local businesses, which you can learn more about here.

SPCA Tampa Bay welcomes all

Part of what makes supporting SPCA Tampa Bay so important is that they are Tampa Bay’s only For-All shelter, meaning they will take in any animal regardless of health, breed, age or other factors. As a result, the animal shelter in Largo is not only home to cats and dogs, but rabbits, mice, iguanas, birds, pigs, goats and much more. The center welcomes injured or ailing wild animals, as well, and treats them before returning them to the wild. On top of all that, the SPCA Veterinary Center in St. Pete provides stellar pet health care and services for dogs and cat.

SPCA Tampa Bay’s mission is to transform the lives of animals through passionate collaboration with the community, in order to create a community where every animal matters. Adoptions volunteers work to match families with animals that are a good fit with the family’s home, lifestyle and personalities. As part of their goal to welcome all animals, there is no time limit for an animal’s stay at the pet shelter, and every animal receives compassionate care, regardless of its breed or size.

Animals receive immunizations, medical care, behavior training, enrichment and loving care while they live at the animal shelter in Largo, and the animal adoption office is open from 1-6 pm Wednesday-Friday and 12-6 pm Saturday and Sunday. In addition to younger pets, SPCA Tampa Bay also has a Diamond Dogs program that offers special services and health screenings for any animal adopted over the age of seven.

Learn more at SPCATampaBay.org.

What to read next:

• The 17 biggest concerts coming to Tampa Bay
• Moxy sets June opening in the EDGE District of St. Pete
• Catapult Adventure Park opens in St. Pete
• The Burg Bar & Grill announces it’s here to stay