Humane Society Of Broward Rescues Nearly 50 Animals After Hurricane Michael
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DANIA BEACH (CBSMiami) – The massive effort to help victims of Hurricane Michael is not only limited to people, but also the four-legged victims.
Rescues are underway to save all the stranded and runaway animals impacted by the devastation.
The Humane Society of Broward County sent volunteers to Dothan, Alabama over the weekend to bring back dogs and cats from a shelter there, which sustained tremendous damage including the destruction of one building that housed over 50 animals that had to live in crates following the devastating hurricane.
Forty-four dogs were brought back to South Florida, along with four cats, after a ten-hour drive.
This is not the first time the Humane Society of Broward County has stepped in to help.
Right before the storm impacted the Florida panhandle and southern states, 37 animal other animals were brought here.
The Director of Operations, Mary Steffen says they are helping as much as they can to pay it forward.
It is similar to what other groups did for them following Hurricane Irma last year.
"We just felt the responsibility, whether the pet is from our community or another community. We are blessed. We have a beautiful building and 500 volunteers," said Steffen. "I feel like we have the resources to do these kinds of things."
The additional dogs are joining the current 130 dogs that are already at the shelter.
There is now an urgent call for people to come to adopt these animals.
The new additions will be available to join South Florida families starting Wednesday.
"It's a great time to do it. We have a lot of animals that really need the community whether they are from Dothan or here," Steffen said.
Tuesday, the animals will get vaccines and baths before they're available for adoption.
"I'm sure the storm created a lot of stress for them to be just involved in that," Steffen said.
On a typical weekend, the humane society sees about 50 adoptions. Leaders say they can handle the additional number of dogs thankful to local families helping adopt pets this most recent weekend.
Click here for more information about the Humane Society of Broward County.
