furry friends fly
200 Houston-area homeless furry friends fly to safety as Hurricane Laura advances
Some Houston-area furry friends threatened by Hurricane Laura have a new lease on life, thanks to a local nonprofit. Houston PetSet, has flown 200 cats and dogs, and one pig, to animal groups on the East Coast. The emergency transport was engineered by Wings of Rescue, Houston PetSet, and Petco Foundation, which funded the operation.
The animals come from Bayou Animal Services (Dickinson), Animal Aid Brigade (Houston), and SPCA of Brazoria County (Lake Jackson). They will find shelter with partnering organizations including Brandywine Valley SPCA (West Chester, Pennsylvania); Richmond SPCA (Richmond, Virginia); Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA (Charlottesville, Virginia); and Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association (Charleston, West Virginia).
Moving the animals was a crucial save. During severe storms such as Hurricane Laura, local and coastal shelters often flood, putting their animals at a great risk of drowning, according to Houston Pet Set.
Meanwhile, shelters are often forced to euthanize their animals when they have no safe way to evacuate pets from the building. The transport ensures that these animals’ lives will be spared. Also, the move means more space for homeless animals who will likely enter the shelters once the storm has settled.
“Hurricane Laura has us springing into action once again,” said Houston PetSet Co-President Tena Lundquist Faust. “We are currently coordinating bus, van and airplane transports to ensure as many animals as possible are delivered to safety before the storm hits. Of course, these emergency efforts are not budgeted for this year, but we have to do what we can to save these innocent pets.”
