A

relatively new, up and coming 
nonprofi t, A HOPE for Santa 
Rosa County has many goals to 
making lives better for companion 

animals. Their name alone shows that their 
mission is clear. HOPE stands for Health, 
Outreach, Prevention, and Education. They 
offer direction and a means to get pets spayed 
or neutered and to keep pets Healthy. They 
have an external network that allows them to 
offer assistance with lost and found animals 
and provide Outreach for pet owners. They 
strive to Prevent pet disease and proper 
care by facilitating heart worm and fl ea 
attacks by Educating  owners, children, and 

communities.  

Brandy Winkleman founded the 

organization in 2017 but has a background of 
serving. In 2014, her friend, Tara DeAguilera, 
invited her to work a shelter adoption event.  
It was a successful adoption event and they 
got 50 animals adopted out that day.  From 
that point Brandy was hooked, volunteering 
to do whatever she could to help out. She 
noticed dogs that weren’t ever getting out and 
the carts of cats and kittens being rolled to 
the euthanasia room so she started working 
hard with rescue groups, to get those animals 
out. There were many faces that couldn’t be 
touched, loved, or given treats before their fi nal 

day. She tried getting as many out to rescue 
as possible but it was never enough. Brandy 
knew the goal was to never let them end up 
there in the fi rst place and the way to do this 
was by lessening the numbers available. With 
a smaller population of animals, then there 
would be more space for those that accidentally 
ended up at shelters for an overnight stay, 
funds for the medically needy, and more time 
for the small staff to do the “happy work” of 
walking and petting animals. Brandy thought, 
“Let’s fi x them,” and honed in on why more 
people weren’t altering their animals, putting 
collars on them, or microchipping. Cost was 
the primary answer and decided that a low cost 
clinic was needed for the citizens of Santa Rosa 
County. Funds were needed so she pulled in 
a few people that she knew could help on this 
grand mission and formed the team that has 
turned into A HOPE for Santa Rosa County. 

story by

 

Greg Alexander 

  |  

photos provided by

 

K&L Photography

May 2018   |   33

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