Rando spent 1,780 days waiting for a family. How he finally found one says a lot about what's happening at Patty Baker Humane Society Naples.
Rando arrived at Patty Baker Humane Society Naples (PBHSN) in 2021, a dog the staff and volunteers adored who just couldn't find his match. He went out on playdates and home with families for trial stays, and staff worked with him on being just a little too excited to meet his future family. (Can you blame him?)
Even at a great shelter, surrounded by people who love them, some pets act a little out of character in a place that's loud, unfamiliar and strange. Rando was one of them. For years, he watched other dogs go home while he stayed... for 1,780 days.
This summer, he met his people, and it was love at first bark.
"It doesn't matter how much love, care and attention we give these little ones, we're a shelter, and by definition a shelter is a temporary home," says CEO Becca Morris. "When his family walked in, it felt like the whole building exhaled."
A new way of working
Some might call Rando's adoption a miracle. It was really the result of pretty amazing changes at PBHSN.
Since becoming CEO in October 2025, Morris has rebuilt the organization's entire operational structure around the standards of care championed by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and the ASPCA, with one goal: the best possible care for every pet.
Every morning now starts with population rounds. Every animal has a plan, and someone is responsible for moving it forward. The daily conversation and process is built to force urgency and accountability. The same questions are asked: Why hasn't this pet been adopted yet? What are we doing today to remove whatever's in the way?
The shelter also brought in Dogs Playing for Life, a nationally recognized program built on supervised playgroups. One of its trainers spent about six weeks embedded with the team, teaching innovative techniques and building playgroups into every day. Playgroups sound like fun, but they do real work. Dogs get exercise and company, and staff get a real look at who each dog is, which makes for better matches.
Morris has also made long-stay pets a priority, and the numbers back it up. So far this year, more than 50 long-stay pets have found their perfect match, and 25 of them had waited a year or more. Rando is one of those 25.
"Our job is to put them in the best possible position to find their forever someones, and we do that by working hard every day and putting a real focus and priority on their needs," said Morris.
More animals, more homes
That work is showing up in the results. PBHSN is taking in more pets and finding homes for more of them.
Through September, 1,600 animals had been adopted, nearly 300 more than at the same point in 2025. In the second quarter, dog adoptions more than doubled, from 95 to 195, while transfers from overcrowded shelters across Florida rose 39%.
Through all of it, the save rate for the year stands at 97%, up from 95% in 2025 and well above the 90% national "no kill" benchmark set by Best Friends Animal Society.
The work is driving the results, and the team is just getting started.
Keeping pets at home
Part of the shelter's work is keeping animals from needing a shelter at all. The Yawney Family Veterinary Clinic offers affordable care to local pet owners, the Patty & Jay Baker Mobile Veterinary Clinic brings care to underserved neighborhoods, and the Denny Plesea Pet Food Pantry helps families get through a tight month without giving up a pet they love.
"Most people who surrender a pet don't want to," Morris says. "If a vet bill or pet food insecurity is standing in the way, we'd much rather help with that. It's about helping both ends of the leash."
As an independent nonprofit, it relies on the generosity of supporters to fund that lifesaving work. And with hundreds of pets in its care, there's almost certainly a dog in the play yard who'd be happy to meet you. All you have to do is come say hello. (Rando would approve.)
370 Airport-Pulling Road North, Naples | Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. | pbhsnaples.org | 239-643-1555