b'realitysoundbites.The Promise His First Order of BusinessThefirstshowofcompassionJack TotheSEBRadoptionprocess Before his official swearing in asNovoselski gave to each dog he rescued Novoselskiaddedanextrastepand the new mayor of St. Petersburg,wastoholdthemcloseandwhisper called it the sleepover. Dogs ready to Mayor-Elect Ken Welch and hisbeadoptedarematchedwithan family visited Friends of Straysapproved family, then a planned sleep- Animal Shelter to meet the adopt-over at the adopters home is scheduled. able dogs. His first order of busi-It could be one night or a week. Thepurpose is to give everyone time to gettoknoweachother.Ifeveryoneisntcompletelycomfortable,therescuegroup takes back the dog.Through SouthEast Beagle Rescue,Novoselski and his band of volunteershavesaved1,600Beagles,sofar.into their ear, Everything is going to The volunteers have been working tobe okay. No one will hurt you again. regroupwithouthim.NovoselskiNovoselski, who began volunteer- handled a great deal of the rescue grouping with Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue in chores himself, so the volunteers know ness turned out to be the adoption2004beforefoundingSouthEast theyhavebigshoestofill.More of a puppy from St. PetersburgsBeagle Rescue (SEBR) in 2011, passed volunteersareneededtohelp oldest no-kill animal shelter.away on September 28, 2021. It was withtransports,eventparticipation Mayor Elect Welch named thenot uncommon for him to put in more and foster homes. puppy Sunshine, a name chosenthan 60 hours a week working in res- Were pretty sure there were a lot of via poll by his supporters.cue. He could easily put 40,000 miles a BeagleswhogreetedNovoselskiwith Sunshine, or "Sunni," officiallyyear on his SUV, dubbed The Beagle their happy howling on the other side became St. Petersburg\'s new FirstBus, picking up dogs at kill shelters in of the Bridge. Dog when Welch became theAlabama, Louisiana and around Florida. www.SEBR.org Mayor on January 6, 2022. Likehis counterpart across the Bay,Mayor Jane Castor, who brings herAnd Well-Read dog Desa, Mayor Welch nowWell-Bred Ilovealldogs,especiallyherders.Alongwith brings Sunni to work at City Hall.their intelligence, enthusiasm and steadfast work Sunni will be a great representativeethic, I love their size and beauty. The Australian of St. Petersburg, also known asShepherd won my heart; I have been in Aussie The Sunshine City with an averagerescue nearly three decades. of 361 days of sunshine a year. It isAsaphoDOGrapherandlifelongdog also one of the most dog-friendlyaficionadoImoftenasked,Whichbreed cities in the United States.would you never have? I answer, a Chihuahua.www.FriendsOfStrays.orgHaving exhausted all resources, Evie wassurrendered due to her severe separation anxietyand lack of house training. She settled in with usas a foster, gaining needed weight prior to herspay. Unfond of men, Bob, my husband, was theunwilling recipient of barking, lunging, and anoperatic howl-fest every time I left. This went onfor over three weeks.One afternoon, I returned from a job. EviewasnestleduponBobschest.Hesaid,About an hour ago, a switch flipped and she decided she liked me.Subscribe to The New Barker usingShe has since adopted him. My advice: never say never.our FlowCode QR Code with your phone.by Tina VaLant, contributor to The New Barker since 2008. It will take you to our SUBSCRIBE Page14THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'