Maitland couple helps organize SPCA anniversary fundraiser

Monisha Seth grew up terrified of dogs. She wouldn’t pet them or walk them, let alone think of owning one.

Growing up outside Philadelphia, she said her family was the one that when walking around their neighborhood, would covertly cross the street if they saw someone with a leashed four-legged friend coming their way.

Her innate fear lingered until 1993, when she met her now husband, Anthony Seth, at the University of Central Florida, and his family dog, a Jack Russell terrier named Bagel.

“I was terrified of any and all dogs until I met him,” Monisha says, nodding toward her husband while reminiscing about calm, cuddly Bagel – and later on, his other four-legged rambunctious brother, Cream Cheese.

Fast-forward 10 years through medical school, residency and a move back to Maitland, and they’re now both doctors with the Florida Hospital Medical Group. In 2003 Monisha decided she was ready, per Anthony’s urging, for the couple to add their own furry friend to their family. Her only request was that the dog have the same tri-color brown, black and white markings as her first dog-friend, Bagel.

After a month’s worth of Saturdays spent at the SPCA of Central Florida, they finally found Franklin, a 2-year-old tri-colored foxhound who glared longingly at them from the back of his dirtied cage. “Get me out of here!” his face pleaded, Monisha said, so they did, not knowing that in the next 10 years to come, that mug would become the face for a more than $250,000 fundraising foundation for the SPCA.

To learn more about the SPCA of Central Florida and the services it provides, visit OrlandoPets.org. To get involved with Monisha and Anthony’s fundraising group for the SPCA, Franklin’s Friends, visit FranklinsFriends.info

The Seths started the group Franklin’s Friends just a month after they brought their new furry friend home. Initially formed as a fundraising group for the SPCA of Central Florida’s annual Wiggle Waggle Walk, the group grew into an all-year-long fundraising organization. Hundreds of dollars the first year turned into thousands the next and then tens of thousands the next.

“It’s grown exponentially from what we ever thought it would,” Monisha said.

“It’s become a pack,” Anthony added, “in more ways than one.”

Today during a visit to the Seths’ home, you’re greeted with the faces of four nearly identical noses pressed against the glass patio doors peering in at you. Some leave foggy breath imprints higher than others, but each of the noses is attached to a nearly matching tri-colored hound-mix rescue dog.

There’s Katie, the medium-sized beagle, Juliette, the low-riding beagle mix, Annie, the 70-pound hound, and, of course Franklin, the now-graying flagship four-legged friend and only canine “man of the house.”

“Once we got Katie, we figured we might as well go all out,” Anthony said, laughing at their originally unintentional mismatched pack of pups.

“I think we don’t think we’re as crazy as the outside world does,” Monisha adds with a laugh, as members of her size-varied pack howl out back.

Jake White, executive vice president of the SPCA of Central Florida, says the Seths’ “crazy” manifests as a positive for his organization, as Franklin’s Friends continues to raise tens of thousands of dollars for the organization every year.

“Over the years Monisha has given selflessly from her heart — she’s been instrumental in several fundraising activities, including our Fur Ball as well as the Wiggle Waggle Walk,” White said.

The Diamond Anniversary Gala to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the SPCA of Central Florida will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, at Full Sail Live. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit SPCAdiamondgala.com

On Sept. 15, the group is taking its fundraising a step further, helping to organize a 75th anniversary celebration and black-tie fundraiser for the SPCA of Central Florida at Full Sail Live in Winter Park. Diamond Anniversary Gala auction items fill the Seths’ dining room as they gear up for the event, hoping to reach their goal of raising $75,000 to go toward the SPCA’s general operating expenses.

As an example, White said that it takes an estimated $1,000 to cure a heartworm positive dog under the SPCA’s care, so that $75,000 could potentially help cure 75 dogs without the SPCA having to dig into its own budget.

“There’s a satisfaction in knowing that we help in our own way to provide a safe home and care for Central Florida’s homeless pets,” Monisha said. “We can adopt one, we can adopt four, but this way we can help them all.”