Gina Botticello can’t remember a time in her life when she didn’t love animals.
It wasn’t because her house was full of them, though.
Her dad was allergic to cats.
So, officially, there weren’t any cats in the house.
But, Botticello admitted: “I would find a kitten and hide it in my room.”
That didn’t last long, though. “That was not OK,” she said.
Still, even when she was very young, she knew she wanted to work with animals.
“I feel very fortunate that I always knew what I wanted to do. And, I always loved it. I think that’s a blessing.”
And, her work at Pasco County Animal Services also has resulted in bringing honor to Botticello and her department.
Recently, she was named Supervisor of the Year by the Florida Animal Control Association.
She was humbled by the selection.
“There were some really accomplished nominees, so it was very surprising and very exciting.”
Her path to the honor began when she was 18 and she began working at Bayonet Point Animal Clinic. Then, as she got older, she became interested in working in the not-for-profit industry.
Then, she became interested in working for an animal shelter.
“A lot of people told me that would not be a good direction. They felt that it would make me very sad.
“But, whoever listens to advice, right?”
So, Botticello joined the team at Pasco County Animal Services.
“I ended up taking a massive pay cut. I left Animal Coalition of Tampa as a technician and came over (to animal services) as an animal care tech, which is the entry position.”
She was willing to take less pay and begin at a lower level to get her foot in the door.
“It was the best thing I ever did,” she said. “So, the leap of faith really paid off. The pay cut. The fear. All of that second-guessing. It really paid off,” Botticello said.
Over time, she worked various positions and was named Pet Services Supervisor in 2017.
To her, it’s more than a job. It’s a mission.
“We’re wearing a lot of hats, and that’s a challenge throughout the day — to shift gears, from placing kittens in foster; to organizing a transfer of an aggressive animal; to solving a customer’s need.
“It’s not an 8 to 5. It’s not, ‘Oh, it’s 5 o’clock, I’ve got to go.
“You want to do more because you believe in it. You know you can get a result. You know you can help. And, when you are able to accomplish what you need, it feels amazing,” she said.
She’s quick to credit the roughly 400 rescue partners, the volunteers and her colleagues at Animal Services for the success the agency has achieved.
“It takes a village, and we have an amazing one,” Botticello said.
The shelter is a Save 90 shelter, which means its goal is to save 90% of the animals that arrive there.
“That can be a challenge because a lot of the animals coming through our door are sick or injured,” she said. They don’t have a family claiming them, so they may be unaccustomed to positive interactions with people.
“The animals that come into our care, they need help,” said Botticello, noting most are a “bit broken” when they arrive.
“There are days when you walk up and down the rows, and your heart is breaking,” she said. “The animals are shaking. Some of them are growling. They don’t know where they’re at, and that’s their defensiveness.”
The flip side of that scene, however, is “to see that same animal walking out of the door, with their tail wagging and relaxed body language. They’re not scared anymore.”
And, they’re on their way to someone’s living room, or a veterinarian, to get the help that the shelter cannot provide.
Botticello greatly appreciates the shelter’s volunteers.
“They are an extension of us,” she said. “They have the deepest love for these animals. They go home from the shelter and they work all night, posting animals on social media to get them help.
“To me, they’re almost like family.”
Being able to adapt, especially when facing challenges, is crucial, Botticello said.
“I definitely think you need to be flexible and creative, and just take things in stride,” she said. “If it’s not a hurricane, it’s a pandemic, or a hoarding case of 400 animals that are coming.
“You just have to have that ‘hit the ground running’ approach, and work together, because one person certainly cannot do the work. It takes a team.”
Botticello said the department always is looking for ways to serve both the animals, and the public.
“We are a public service. That’s a mentality that is saturated in all that we do,” she said.
“We embrace suggestions, ideas.
“Anyone that has any kind of time or energy to give us information, I have time to listen to it. I don’t want to disregard anything,” she said.
When she received her award, she said, it felt odd to be standing there alone.
“Nobody accomplishes this much, independently,” Botticello said.
Under Gina Botticello’s leadership
- 1,650 animals were sent to rescue partners (a 120% increase over 2017, and a 45% increase over 2018)
- Dozens of animals that would have been automatic euthanasia decisions in years past are now being transferred to willing rescue groups and veterinary partners.
- Animal services has pulled animals from Polk, Hillsborough, Hernando and Levy counties, and it has worked closely with Pinellas, Marion and Citrus counties in life-saving efforts through rescue program development and partnership growth.
- Achieved a save rate for cats exceeding 90% in August of 2019, the first month the shelter ever accomplished that
Published April 15, 2020
