Tri-County Animal Rescue is marking 30 years of pulling dogs and cats back from the brink with its 12th annual Peppermint Bark & Brunch, set for November 22 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Tickets run $450 apiece, and the guest of honor is a 12-year-old author whose debut book supports animal welfare organizations with its profits.
Tri-County Animal Rescue describes itself as a 100% no-kill, 501(c)(3) nonprofit shelter, according to the organization's website, and says it has worked to save animals since 1996. As reported by Florida Weekly, the shelter was founded by Suzi Goldsmith and has rescued more than 101,000 animals over three decades, a figure that aligns with the shelter's own claim of having saved over 100,000 animals, per tricountyanimalrescue.org.
A Guest of Honor With Her Own Rescue Mission
This year's event centers on Amelie Anastasia, a 12-year-old animal advocate and author, per Florida Weekly's account of the brunch lineup. She wrote Shelter Dogs, a book that donates 100% of its profits to animal welfare organizations, and Florida Weekly reports she has raised more than $15,000 for her local humane society.
Other reporting on Anastasia's book offers a narrower, earlier snapshot of that fundraising effort. The National Law Review reported that Anastasia released Shelter Dogs on July 21, 2026, with all profits from the book supporting animal shelters and adoption efforts. By August 7, 2026, 9&10 News reported, she had raised more than $9,000 for the Little Traverse Bay Humane Society in Michigan — the station describing the book as centered on 13 shelter dogs, drawing on true stories of rescued animals from Northern Michigan and other parts of the country.
Brunch, Boutiques and a Veterinary Fund
The Palm Beach brunch itself, as laid out by Florida Weekly, is chaired by Adrien Arpel, Andrea Stark, Diana Retzer, Sher Kasun and Farley Rentschler, and will include cocktails, boutique shopping, photos with guests' pups, live music from Danny Beck, a doggie buffet and raffles alongside the brunch itself. Proceeds from the event's Adopt Don't Shop candles benefit the Andrea and John Stark Free Veterinary Fund for Those in Need, according to the outlet's reporting.
That fund traces back to Andrea Stark, who together with her husband, John, established the Andrea and John Stark Free Veterinary Fund for Those in Need at Tri County Animal Rescue, according to Mann About Town. That same profile credits the shelter's founding to Suzi Goldsmith and notes the organization has saved more than 89,000 dogs since 1996 — a figure that differs from the more than 101,000 animals cited by Florida Weekly.
The Bigger Picture for Florida Shelters
Tri-County's milestone comes against a backdrop of steady pressure on Florida's shelter system. The state's 152 known animal shelters admitted 351,455 dogs and cats in 2025, 1% fewer than the year before, with 305,744 live outcomes producing an 87% statewide Live Outcome Rate, according to the University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program. Cats made up the majority of that intake, with 207,175 cats admitted compared with 144,280 dogs — 59% of all shelter intake statewide.
The same University of Florida data show cat intake climbed 2% from both 2024 and 2019, with owner-surrendered cat intake up 5% from the prior year, even as shelters managed to adopt out 108,514 cats in 2025, 5% more than in 2024 and 54% more than in 2013. Rural counties reported roughly 31 shelter intakes per 1,000 residents, more than double the urban rate of 14, and county and city municipal shelters handled 61% of all animals entering Florida shelters statewide. The university notes its shelter census is self-reported by individual shelters and compiled into statewide summaries.
Earlier expansion efforts at the Boca Raton-based rescue offer some sense of its growth trajectory. WPTV reported that the organization was once spending millions of dollars to make more room for dogs and cats, building a new clinic its board chair said would open in January 2019 and planning to rebuild a new two-story residence hall for the animals. That earlier campus push stands separate from this month's anniversary brunch, which Florida Weekly frames as both a celebration of three decades of work and a push to keep the shelter's veterinary fund stocked for pet owners who can't afford care.
