Pets & Animals

Bow Wow Meow Pet Company is now selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a brand new, locally designed and constructed doghouse. Raffle tickets are $10 for one or $15 for two. The raffle winner will be chosen on December 28, 2013 with all profits going to benefit Seaside Animal Rescue. Make sure to stop by Bow Wow Meow Pet Company in Seagrove Beach, any day of the week, to see this adorable house and to purchase your raffle tickets.
 

Here's your chance to win a pair of tickets to Artists for Animals at Grayt Grounds of Monet Monet in Grayton Beach, Nov. 14, 2013. The event will benefit two local charities, Alaqua Animal Refuge and Sinfonia Gulf Coast. SoWal.com is giving away two pairs of tickets to this grayt event - we'll pick two random winners on Nov. 11, 2013. 

Under the Florida Wildlife Commission’s Florida Black Bear Management Plan , approved in 2012, seven bear management units (BMUs) will be established throughout the state. The West Panhandle BMU, encompassing the counties of Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton, will be the first to be created.

Shelter House held the official ribbon cutting ceremony today for the Kind Heart Kennel, an on-site kennel at its confidential emergency shelter that will allow abuse victims to bring their pets with them when leaving a violent home. With the opening of the Kind Heart Kennel, Shelter House becomes the only center in Northwest Florida and one of only a few in the entire state to provide this service.
 

After 47 days in the field, 227 threatened gopher tortoises have been spared an inhumane death and 28 gopher tortoise eggs have been saved from a development site in Apopka, Fl. The Humane Society of the United States, Nokuse Plantation, D.R. Horton and Bio-Tech Consulting teamed up to rescue the tortoises and eggs from the Rock Springs Ridge subdivision before relocating them to a permanent home at Nokuse Plantation, a nature preserve in Walton County. The eggs started hatching on Sept. 6.

One of South Walton's most loved organizations has big news! Alaqua Animal Refuge is a non-profit, no-kill animal refuge founded and run by Laurie Hood and dozens of volunteers. The refuge is located on ten acres of farm land west of Freeport. A recent gift of 85 acres of land was received for relocation and expansion from local resident M.C. Davis. The new location will continue to focus on providing animals shelter, safety, and second chances, but will also host educational exhibits and a zoological design for tours.

Alaqua Animal Refuge is a no-kill facility founded in 2007 on a sprawling, 10-acre farm in Freeport, FL. Alaqua Animal Refuge believes that every abused, neglected and homeless animal deserves a second chance. The private, nonprofit animal sanctuary is committed to serving the Emerald Coast as the premier no-kill refuge, providing protection, shelter and care to animals in need. Alaqua is a full-service animal adoption center serving as a peaceful, proactive animal welfare advocate through educational outreach and community programs.

End of July Update: South Walton Turtle Watch (SWTW) is reporting the most current count of sea turtle nests is up to 55. Some of the first nests of the season are approaching 50-60 days and we should start to see hatchlings and/or their tracks to the water any day.

If you've been to one of South Walton's state parks this season, you  might have noticed extra activity along the shore in low-lying dune areas. We have some very special visitors to our shores and this story and photos by our friend Jeff Talbert, Park Services Specialist at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, is welcome information about our feathered friends.

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Parents looking for a truly inspiring setting for their children to develop creativity, art skills and an appreciation for nature and the visual arts need look no further than the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center located at 4956 State Hwy. 20 East in Freeport, Florida. The Biophilia Center is hosting Abrakadoodle-Northwest Florida for an impressive array of affordable, nature-themed camp programs for children ages 5-12. Summer camps kick-off June 5, with weekly sessions each Wednesday through July 31 from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.