Operation Cold Noses Collects Blankets, Items For Shelter Animals In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Ever since she was a child, Jennifer Jones loved animals. And as she got older, as a teenager living in St. Pete’s Old Northeast neighborhood, she’d happily care for her neighbors’ pets.

“My first job wasn’t even a job … I had keys to everybody’s house; I had one of those janitor key rings,” she told Patch. “I’d ask people, ‘You going to work? I’ll come walk your dog.’”

Now, as a realtor with the Jennifer Thayer Group, which recently joined real estate firm Michael Saunders & Company as it expands into St. Petersburg, Jones continues to have a big heart for animals by collecting blankets and other supplies for rescue animals.

Through their grassroots initiative Operation Cold Noses, she and her boyfriend, Alex Kaczmarski, a home inspector with Quigley Inspection Services, accept these donated items for no-kill shelters in the area every year from November into early January.

It’s a personal mission for the couple, who have two rescue dogs together — Doug, a 13-year-old pitbull mix and Eli, an 8-pound Shih Tzu.

Jones knows how much her pups hate the cold.

“And they have a shelter … and all the blankets and snuggles,” she said. “But there are so many without.”

At first, they simply collected items from family and friends — mostly used linens, towels, and blankets, though they’d sometimes accept food, treats, and other items.

“Year after year it grew a little bit more and a little bit more,” Jones said. “Now this little homegrown thing we started is a lot bigger than us. It’s bigger than what we ever thought it would be to the point where we need storage units and drop-off facilities."

She added, "Our businesses both really propelled this little thing."

This year’s drop-off locations include:

• Wilson’s Book World, 535 16th Street N., St. Petersburg
• Fidelity National Title, 3401 4th Street N., St. Petersburg
• Always Dependable Home Health Care, 5503 38th Ave. N., St. Petersburg
• Specs Eyecare Tyrone, 1903 Tyrone Blvd., St. Petersburg
• Vapor Road Botanical Tea & Vape Lounge, 3334 Tyrone Blvd., St. Petersburg
• Ten Pin Lanes, 1453 Pasadena Ave. S., South Pasadena

In mid-January, the couple divides the donations between the Humane Society of Pinellas, Pinellas County Animal Services, PetPal Animal Shelter and Protecting Cause for Life, a partner of CASA.

Using laundry baskets — which they also need donated to the cause — they use the collected items to create 50 to 100 gift baskets, each for a different animal.

All donated food gets put into storage bags and given to Hank’s Bark Box.

“We know the shelters have an influx of food,” Jones said.

Anyone interested in participating in Operation Cold Noses should email her at thayerteam1@gmail.com.

“The more drop-off locations we have, the more baskets we have, then the more happy, warm animals we have,” she said.

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