Hundreds of dogs and other animals were evacuated from Hurricane Helene-ravaged areas in Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina and relocated to animal shelters across the country.
Helene’s devastating path across the Southeast moved the animals to facilities in Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and D.C., where they are up for adoption and a second chance.
The Humane Society of the United States, in a news release Monday, said 45 adoptable animals from shelters struggling with loss of power and water in Tennessee were evacuated to their care and rehabilitation center in Maryland.
From another shelter in Tennessee’s Unicoi County, about 100 animals were evacuated and are being placed with different groups as the shelter undergoes cleanup and construction, the humane society said.
“By transporting animals who were available for adoption pre-storm out of the region, local animal services will be better positioned to take in and care for displaced animals in their community, increasing the likelihood of reunifications,” the Humane Society said in the news release.
A spokesperson for the organization, Kirsten Peek, in an email to USA TODAY Thursday said that efforts to relocate the animals is still ongoing and they do not have an estimated update on the total number of animals that have been evacuated.
Wisconsin
Meanwhile, multiple shelters in Wisconsin including the Humane Animal Welfare Society in Waukesha, Elmbrook Humane Society, Wisconsin Humane Society and Washington County Humane Society are taking in dozens of cats and dogs affected by Hurricane Helene.
About 88 dogs and 44 cats were in flown from Florence, South Carolina to Waukesha outside of Milwaukee, Wednesday afternoon, with the Wisconsin shelters helping them get adopted, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.
“It was a challenging decision to help as there is a high population of local animals recently,” Angela Speed, vice president of marketing and communication for the Wisconsin Humane Society told the Journal Sentinel, but people in the community have always “stepped up and helped” in these situations, she said.
CEO of Greater Good Charities Liz Baker, who oversaw the relocation told the Journal Sentinel that the “the best thing is to move out adoptable pets and to move them into the community where there are adoptable homes.”
“Most are adopted, and this clears out space for other animals in need,” Baker said, explaining that the “animals in need” are the pets who are homeless and are waiting to be reunited with their owners.
North Carolina
The Humane Society of Charlotte assisted the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) with the emergency transport of 44 homeless dogs and cats from the Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, which was completely devastated by the hurricane.
The animals were placed in emergency fosters ahead of the hurricane making landfall, before being moved to temporary sheltering after which they were transported to Charlotte, ASPCA said in a news release.
“The 14 dogs and 30 cats – all of whom are unowned – are receiving medical and behavioral care until they are made available for adoption in the coming weeks,” ASPCA said.
Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, the Dakin Humane Society, based in Springfield is waiving 50% off all adoption fees till Oct. 12 to attract people into adopting quickly and help make space in the shelter for animals being transported from southern partner shelters impacted by Hurricane Helene. The shelter did not specify how many animals were transported to Springfield, but pictures shared by the organization showed that cats, dogs and even a sparrow were up for adoption.
The Dakin Humane Society is also collecting relief goods such as dog food, cat food and toys to be sent to their partners in hurricane-ravaged areas.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said they welcomed 34 dogs from eastern Tennessee and 15 cats from Florida with 75 more animals expected to come sometime later this week from Asheville, which is one of the most affected areas. The dogs that arrived from Tennessee are now up for adoption, the shelter said Friday.
Rhode Island
Potter League for Animals, an animal shelter in Middleton, Rhode Island took in 14 dogs from the Aiken County Animal Shelter in South Carolina. A spokesperson for the animal shelter Kara Montalbano in an email to USA TODAY clarified that the dogs “were already in the shelter prior to the hurricane and are not owned pets displaced by the storm,” adding they were relocated to Rhode Island to create space at the Aiken County Animal Shelter for animals impacted by the hurricane.
The Aiken County Animal Shelter in Aiken, about 132 miles from Charleston, has been dealing with an influx of animals before and during Hurricane Helene while struggling with no power and limited resources in the aftermath of the hurricane. The shelter, in a post on Facebook Friday said that it received 93 animals in the three days before the hurricane hit and “desperately need fosters who live in Aiken County” to take in a homeless dog or pup for a short time.
Montalbano shared that of the 14 dogs that arrived, five have already found homes and the shelter is planning another transport with the Aiken County Animal Shelter in the coming weeks.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
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