Transcript:
When extreme weather strikes, pet shelters can struggle to care for the dogs and cats in their facilities.
For example, last fall Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina…
Neff: “Most facilities have no water, no electricity.”
Mark Neff is president and CEO of the Forsyth Humane Society in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which is outside the hardest-hit area.
To help, his team collected donations of food, water and supplies. They then work with the Bissell Pet Foundation and other agencies to fly these supplies to areas in need and evacuate shelter pets back to their own facility and to other facilities across the state.
Neff: “So throughout this process, nearly 800 animals have been removed from western North Carolina.”
Neff said the animals endured significant stress during the event, but most are recovering. They are unlikely to return to their original communities. After the storm, shelters reopened and many were filled with new items Due to the disaster, owners can no longer care for their animals.
As a result, even shelters far from the site of the storm are housing large numbers of cats and dogs.
As climate change causes more extreme weather, the burden on rescue groups and the need for people to adopt pets is likely to increase.
Report source: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media
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