Alan and Barbara Pariera with their family dogs.

Alan Pareira came to the University of Florida from Miami in the late 1950s. His mission was to study business and return to his Miami home community to build a career, but along the way, he became a lifelong Gator and his heart also remained in Gainesville.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UF in 1960, Alan first set his sights on learning more about the world of finance on Wall Street. The fact that he drove his 1947 Plymouth convertible, top-down, from Florida to New York City, speaks volumes about his determination and optimism. He enrolled in a graduate business class at New York University’s Wall Street Division for additional background in economics and finance, knocking on corporate doors until he found a firm willing to grant the young graduate’s request for on-the-job training.

Nearly a year later, with experience and credentials under his belt, Alan returned home to work for a New York-based financial firm for the next eight years in their Miami offices. It was during those years he met his wife, Barbara. Through his college friend, a pilot, they met at an airlines party. She worked in sales and public relations for Eastern Airlines, and they married in 1968. As Alan built his business, Barbara continued with the airlines. Their family grew, adding a daughter and son, and adopting assorted cat and dog family members over the years.

“Alan and I were always united in rescuing animals — we even rescued a baby goat and fostered it for a week or so, until we could find it a home,” Barbara said.

Building what would be a long and successful finance career in Miami-Dade County, in 1969 Alan founded First Equity Corporation of Florida, and later Florida Atlantic Securities Corporation, where he served as CEO and a registered investment advisor.

Barbara credits her husband as the one with an exciting life story, claiming hers was ordinary. But one might doubt that as she recalled her long airline career, raising children and stories as a volunteer for the Miami Zoo’s outreach program.

“I drove a van with other zoo volunteers to take exotic animals around to local schools,” Barbara explained. “There was always something crazy happening, like a parrot getting loose and flying around the van while we were driving.”

The Pareiras often travelled to Gainesville as a family for football games. However, as Alan developed leadership in business and finance, he also found ways to give back to his alma mater. Sharing his expertise, he became a founding member of UF’s College of Business Advisory Council and chair of the University of Florida Investment Committee. Later, he became a founding board member of the University of Florida Investment Corporation, or UFICO, which provides investment research and guidance to the UF Foundation Board of Directors and affiliated organizations.

Alan is a lifetime member of the UF Foundation Board of Directors. He also was named an honorary member of Florida Blue Key, a distinguished leadership and public service organization at UF.

The Pareiras had always been interested in the growth of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine over the years and recognized it as an important resource in the state, with the emergence of its small animal hospital and shelter medicine programs. Their own trusted veterinarian, Julio Ibanez, D.V.M. (’80), a member of the college’s first graduating class, collaborated with the college to offer a Miami clinical training site for UF students.

While in Gainesville for a football game in 2014, the couple visited the college’s Veterinary Community Outreach Program. Established by Natalie Isaza, D.V.M. (’94) a clinical associate professor of shelter medicine, the program serves as an elective clinical rotation for veterinary medical students. Touring the clinic, they met a rescue dog who was staying there for extensive treatment of heartworms.

“The attendant let him out of his cage and he flopped down next to Barbara’s lap — and that was that,” Alan laughed. “We adopted him, and I came back to pick him up a month later when his treatment was done.”

Aptly named Gator, the boxer-mix joined two other family dogs, Louisa Anna – a refugee from Hurricane Katrina and Sonny, who Alan describes as “an incorrigible rescue beagle.” Their animal family also includes four adopted cats, Sammy, Louie, Ali and George, who came to them through a relative in southern Georgia.

In their own community, the Miami-Dade animal shelter was doubling in size with the addition of a state-of-the-art Pet Adoption and Protection Center. The Pareiras describe the new facility as a warm, hospitable environment that is inviting for visitors interested in pet adoption. They believed UF’s collaboration could benefit Miami-Dade Animal Services and its new adoption center.

The Pareiras were eager to support UF’s veterinary expertise and training programs in shelter medicine as a way to extend help for many homeless animals. They made the inaugural gift to support UF’s Miami-Dade clerkship that funds UF veterinary medicine faculty and students who rotate through the facility’s clinic.

“A constant in our lives has been a shared reverence and love for small animals,” Alan said. “We hope the Miami-Dade center will be a model for animal shelters in Florida and around the country.”

Caring for so many animals over the years also has meant experiencing loss, which Alan and Barbara compared to losing a family member. Wanting to help comfort others during crisis or loss of their pet, the Pareiras provided another gift to the college, establishing a memorial garden at UF Small Animal Hospital.

Returning from a business flight last year, Alan recalled a serendipitous conversation with a passenger seated next to him as they prepared to land. They exchanged pleasantries and the man seemed anxious to share his loss of a beloved dog cared for at the UF Small Animal Hospital. Pareira responded with how traumatic it had been for them in losing a pet as well. The man, who knew nothing about Alan’s background or connection to UF, revealed that in their distress, he and his wife had found a little memorial garden at the veterinary hospital that gave them so much comfort in their grief.

“To think that two strangers shared that experience in 15 minutes on a plane.” Alan said with awe. “In that moment, I felt grateful that we were able to do something so meaningful to others.”

As their plane taxied, Alan noted the irony of their chance meeting and disclosed to the man that he and his wife had, in fact, had helped the college build the memorial garden.