{"id":244945,"date":"2026-04-24T16:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/244945\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:25:11","slug":"how-pets-at-harbor-house-of-central-florida-are-helping-save-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/244945\/","title":{"rendered":"How pets at Harbor House of Central Florida are helping save lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 As the 15th annual Paws for Peace Walk<\/a> with Harbor House of Central Florida returns this weekend, I wanted to take you somewhere most people don\u2019t get to see, a place where your support is truly making a difference.<\/p>\n

For years, it\u2019s been an honor to serve as an ambassador for this incredible organization. But this time, for Trooper Steve on Patrol, I went behind the scenes to show you exactly how your donations are changing lives.<\/p>\n

And it starts somewhere you might not expect, the animal kennel.<\/p>\n

Inside Harbor House, victims of domestic violence are not forced to make an impossible choice between their safety and their pets. They can bring them along…because for many, those pets aren\u2019t just animals, they\u2019re family.<\/p>\n

Studies have shown that some victims will stay in dangerous situations simply because they don\u2019t want to leave their pets behind. It\u2019s a heartbreaking reality, but one Harbor House is actively working to change.<\/p>\n

By offering a safe space for both people and their animals, that barrier is removed, giving families a real chance to escape and start over together.<\/p>\n

During my visit, I had the chance to speak with CEO Michelle Sperzel about the importance of this program and the impact it continues to have across Central Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about keeping families whole,\u201d she explained. \u201cWhen someone makes the decision to leave, we want to make sure they don\u2019t have to leave anyone behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

That message hits home.<\/p>\n

Because when we talk about safety, we\u2019re not just talking about individuals, we\u2019re talking about entire families.<\/p>\n

The 15th annual Paws for Peace Walk takes place tomorrow at Harbor Park, bringing the community together to support survivors and raise awareness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than just a walk; it\u2019s a chance to stand behind an organization that\u2019s removing obstacles, saving lives, and keeping families together.<\/p>\n

I hope you\u2019ll take a moment to watch the full stream from this Trooper Steve on Patrol and, if you can, come out and show your support.<\/p>\n

Because sometimes, helping someone take their first step to safety starts with making sure their best friend can come with them.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 As the 15th annual Paws for Peace Walk with Harbor House of Central Florida returns…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1684,28,30,29,70686,1335,18156],"class_list":["post-244945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-animals","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-harbor-house-of-central-florida","tag-orange-county","tag-trooper-steve-on-patrol"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}