SALEM, MA — Nearly three dozen dogs, including many puppies, arrived in Salem from Hurricane Helene-ravaged Tennessee this week — with up to 100 more dogs and cats on the way in the coming days — as the Northeast Animal Shelter and MSPCA-Angell worked to rescue pets stranded in the wake of the storm’s devastation.
The two transports this week include 15 dogs from the McKarney Animal Center in Chattanooga that arrived in Salem on Tuesday and 19 dogs from the shelter and Humane Education Society earlier in the week.
Many of the dogs, which will soon be available for adoption, include puppies with some older dogs brought in as well. The breeds include German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Beagles and Pit Bulls.
“Our partners there (in Tennessee) are dealing with a lot of flooding, and they’re expecting to see an influx in surrenders and displaced animals as a result of the hurricane,” MSPCA-Angell Vice President of Animal Protection Mike Keiley said. “These transports of dogs that were living in the shelters prior to the storm will allow those groups to help more local animals impacted by it.”
Keiley said the MSPCA and Northeast Animal Shelter are also expecting a transport of cats from a shelter in Florida that is over capacity and has been without power since the storm hit with 140 miles-per-hour winds as a Category 4 hurricane, and are finalizing plans to transport as many as 80 dogs and cats this week from Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, North Carolina, in another partnership with the ASPCA.
“Given everything that they’re dealing with, we want to help in any way possible,” Keiley said. “Our staff will provide a little relief to workers who desperately need it, while the transport will open up much-needed space in the shelter, and the cats couldn’t be coming to us at a better time.”
He said the 15 cats were expected to arrive at Hanscom Field in Bedford on Wednesday.
“Our space was tight even before the storm, but we have a Natural Disaster Relief program, and we’re committed to being there when the worst happens,” Keiley added.
The MSPCA network of shelters in Boston, Cape Cod, Methuen and Salem this week are offering a “Purranormal Cativity” fee-free adoption event for certain cats with medical and behavioral needs, as well as older cats, in an effort to clear shelter space for the new arrivals.
All pets adopted out of MSPCA shelters have been spayed or neutered, have been examined for health, and have completed a 48-hour quarantine.
More information on adoptions can be found here.
“For us to be successful, we need support from the community,” said Keiley. “If you have space in your home and your heart, we would love for you to come adopt or foster some of the animals in our care.”
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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