By Mikkel Hyldebrandt
Photos courtesy of PALS Atlanta
On August 23, PALS Atlanta is lauding their 35th anniversary with a big celebration at Park Tavern. With a decades-long commitment to serving the community and their pets, PALS Atlanta has many initiatives to raise funds and awareness to their cause. We got a chance to speak to executive director, Tommy Burkhalter Lazaro, about the legacy of PALS, how to get involved with the organization, and of course, the anniversary party on August 23.
PALS Atlanta is about to celebrate its 35th anniversary with a big celebration on August 23. But first, why don’t you tell us a little bit about how PALS started?
PALS Atlanta was founded in 1990 by Dr. Susan Wynn, a veterinarian, and Dr. Margaret Schulte, an educator, who met while doing volunteer work for DeKalb Humane Society. While there, they heard about a person with AIDS who was living alone with his best friend, a cat. He was sharing his one meal per day with his cat and foregoing some of his medications to pay for vet care for his animal. Dr. Wynn and Dr. Schulte were very touched by the fact that this individual was risking his own health for the health of his only friend, his cat.
They immediately realized that the human-animal bond was extremely important to persons living with AIDS. So many lost the support and contact of family and friends, not to mention their financial independence, jobs, homes, and savings. This was an area in the life of persons living with AIDS that needed to be addressed. So, they began collecting pet food. This was the humble beginning of PALS Atlanta.
Still today most of our clients are individuals living with HIV, but we have expanded our services to include those with cancer, disabilities, the elderly and US veterans.
The event on August 23 is about celebrating decades of accomplishments. Can you reveal what guests can expect at this grand party?
We are still working on our program, but attendees will hear from at least one of our founders, Dr. Wynn, and possibly Dr. Shulte. There will also be music, dancing, likely a performance by one of our PALS drag queens or guest drag queens, raffles, a wine pull, and, of course, food, drinks, and dancing. We will also be revealing some exciting updates and swag that everyone who is anyone will want.
I can’t wait for this party, but PALS does so many other things to raise funds throughout the year, your bingo night at Lips being one of them. Tell us about those other initiatives.
Our monthly drag bingo, which David Atlanta is a part of, and we thank you for that, is the longest-running drag bingo game in the United States. It has been hosted since 1997 by Atlanta drag icon Bubba D Licious. Bubba has been doing drag in Atlanta since the Earth first cooled, I think only Lena Lust has been doing it longer. Our game is always the second Tuesday of the month at Lips Atlanta and Lips donates their space and time to us every month. Â
We recently partnered with Skiptown to host a drag show for Pride Month. Skiptown is a bar/dog park in Kirkwood. Misti Shores hosted, and it was a hoot to see all our queens do their numbers with a bunch of dogs running around. The dogs and the people seemed to really enjoy it so we will be doing a few more of those.
We have other events throughout the year like Yappy Hour where we have people and their pets come out for drinks and raise a little money for our mission.
Many of PALS Atlanta’s initiatives are volunteer-based – how and when can people get involved as a volunteer?
Our main need for volunteers is dog food delivery to our clients. I would like to expand our services to include dog walking and fostering. We have a lot of clients who are disabled or otherwise home bound and their dogs could use some walking and outdoor time. We could also use some fosters for large dogs. Our clients get into situations where a temporary foster home is sometime needed.
We also run a monthly vaccine clinic for our clients and the public that requires volunteer assistance and of course we can always use some help with bingo setup and manning tables at events.
After this party, do you have any events planned for the rest of the year?
Yes, this gala has taken up a lot of planning obviously, but we are looking to do another drag show at Skiptown, an online photo contest (with a twist) where there will be a party at the conclusion. That will hopefully be in October and a holiday Yappy Hour in December. Our drag bingo is always the second Tuesday of each month and folks can always see what events we are hosting by visiting palsatlanta.org/events
As the Executive Director, what do you hope that this party will achieve for PALS?
My main goal is to raise awareness about what we do for people, their pets, and our place in Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community. There are a lot of people who just associate PALS with drag bingo, but we are so much more than that. Anyone who comes to one of our clinics or delivers dog food for us comes away very moved after interacting with some of the vulnerable people and pets we serve.
Also, we were very honored to be named a 2025 Atlanta Pride Grand Marshal, and I hope that recognition for our long service to the community will make people want to learn more about us.
On a broader note, what do you wish to accomplish for PALS going forward?
Since becoming the Executive Director of PALS Atlanta, my main goal has been to grow the client base we serve. That is my short-term goal, and we have been making steady progress on that. I have been networking with AID Atlanta, the Grady Ponce Center and the Ryan White Program at Emory to have their case workers refer more clients to us.
I am also working closely with PAWS Atlanta to see how we can collaborate since we offer complimentary services.
As a long-term goal, I would love to have the funding to offer grants to our clients for emergency vet services and end of life care for their companion animals. All of that takes funding and donations from our community.
Tell us how we can attend the party – are there general admission and VIP tickets?
There are general admission and VIP tickets available to the gala on August 23rd. People can visit palsatlanta.org/pals35 to purchase tickets and view sponsorship information if they would like to be a sponsor
What if you can’t make it to the party – how can we support PALS?
We are always in need of donations; anyone can donate online by visiting give.palsatlanta.org/donate.
Also, attending our monthly drag bingo game is always a way to support us, have a little fun and possibly win a little money. Our bingo patrons are very generous and most of our winners donate their winnings back to us. We do not promise to be the best drag show in town, but it is always a fun, hot mess and you are doing a lot to help our mission just by attending.
Anything you’d like to add?
I would just like to thank the community that has supported us over the last 35 years. We have been able to help over a thousand dogs and cats get the care that they need so that they can be loving companions to their humans.Â