Dreaming of a $1M makeover

A Queens animal shelter has been chosen as a finalist in an online competition, but needs to find a permanent building to qualify for the million-dollar renovation.
The Bobbi and the Strays animal shelter, which was founded in 1997 by Roberta “Bobbi” Giordano, is dedicated to no-kill rescue and finding homes for the animals.
“There is nothing more important to us than saving as many dogs and cats as we can daily and keeping them until their forever home is found,” Sandy Unger, a volunteer at the shelter, said. “It’s a gift when then get a home and it’s what keeps us motivated.”
Bobbi and the Strays rely on more than 50 volunteers to take care of the animals, rescue them off the streets and work at the adoption centers. Last Tuesday a group of pre-schoolers delivered more than 30,000 pennies they had raised to help the organization.
Last year alone the shelter adopted over 500 dogs and cats and currently 63 animals await their new homes at Bobbi and the Strays two temporary locations at JFK Airport and the Atlas Park Mall, located at 71-03 80th Street, Glendale.
Zoo Too, an organization dedicated to helping animals and assisting pet lovers in making informed decisions, has invited the 20 top rescue shelters in America to the Human Society of the United States headquarters in Orlando, Florida to announce which organization would qualify for the million-dollar renovation on May 15. However, Bobbi and the Strays might not be eligible for the grand prize because it lacks a permanent facility and it does not own the property of its two temporary locations.
“We are trying to buy a building in Queens, but at this time we do not have the funds available,” Unger said.
Nevertheless, the staff at Bobbi and the Strays is going to Florida, hoping it would one day consolidate its operation in a building the shelter owns.
“What we’d really like is a large space where we can keep the cats, the small dogs, the big dogs, all together,” shelter manager, Laura Miller, said. “We can have a vet’s office there, a playroom, someplace that’s more accessible. So that’s basically our dream shelter. But right now we’ll take any kind of building just to get the renovation.”
For more information on adopting a pet, learning about any of the programs at Bobbi and the Strays, or helping the organization find a new building visit www.bobbicares.com or call 718-845-0779.