Marsha Panuce—founder of Donte’s Den, a distinctive sanctuary in multiple ways, including that it extends across 50 acres (in Myakka City, FL), and primarily houses dogs—recalls growing up loving dogs, including pilgrimages with her Dad every Father’s Day to the local shelter, to adopt a dog. 
This passion for pooches traversed her formative years and her professional life, including
a career as a concert pianist and a stint in the fashion biz, which involved living in Italy. Panuce remembers that even at points where it was impractical to live with a dog—like her Italian residency—she made sojourns to the local shelter for her canine fix. But all those shelter visits over all those years was equipping Panuce with knowledge and insights (criteria, really) for what traits she would like her facility to have, and not have, once she opened her own sanctuary—a dream she says she began nurturing as far back as college. Opened in 2014, Donte’s Den reflects Panuce’s long-marinating vision, unique in a myriad of ways—starting with that sprawling parcel of land. 50 acres! Primarily to house dogs! By comparison, for instance, Big Cat Rescue—home to numerous tigers, lions, and other sizable felines—was, I believe, not all that much bigger, at 67 acres. We discuss other distinctive traits that Panuce incorporated into the operation
of Donte’s Den range from no leashes and no kennels (rather, they reside in large, air-conditioned so-called “dens”), to a
fully-equipped vet hospital, along with a bone-shaped hydrotherapy pool. No less unusual is when she explains that Donte’s Den eschews volunteers, relying instead on a dozen full-time paid staff members to look after the animals, and everything else, around the clock. She describes some of the dogs residing at Donte’s Den, as well as the sanctuary’s overarching ethos: “Dogs need to be respected.” We conclude the conversation noting The Dog Bar St. Pete is opening a new location in Sarasota, and Donte’s Den has been selected the fundraising recipient of the Dog Bar’s Grand Opening on Saturday, July 19. (https://www.dontesden.org/, https://www.facebook.com/DontesDenFoundation/, https://www.instagram.com/dontes_den1/)
ALSO: I spoke with Myriam Parham, the co-founder and president of Florida Voices For Animals (FVA). She first provides a brief overview of FVA’s mission and some central elements and campaigns of that mission. Among other components of the organization’s agenda, FVA produces the annual Tampa Bay Veg Fest, the highly-regarded, multifaceted day-long event, about which she recalled the first year (2010), and the impetus for creating the festival. Parham also recalled the deeply unfortunate scenario impelling the FVA to cancel the 2024 Veg Fest, owing to the destruction and numerous other problems brought by the devastating hurricanes. But she joined me on today’s show chiefly to deliver the exciting news that Tampa Bay Veg Fest is returning! Specifically, for Save The Date purposes: Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, 11am-5pm, at Perry Harvey Sr. Park, 1000 E Harrison St, Tampa, FL 33602. While there’s much work to do and arrangements to be made, Parham says the forthcoming Veg Fest will feature the components fest-goers have come to expect and enjoy, including food vendors, speakers (she says two of the speakers slated for the cancelled Fest, Tim Kaufman and Dr. Crystal Heath, will speak at this forthcoming fest), cooking demos, live music, kids fun zone, and more. (https://www.tampabayvegfest.com/, https://www.floridavoicesforanimals.org/)
COMEDY CORNER: Zoltan Kaszas’ “Cats Pt. 1” (DS edit) (https://www.zoltancomedy.com/)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
AUDIO ARCHIVE:
