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When Hurricane Sandy hit the East coast of the USA it left a path of destruction that is still being sifted through. Our highly trained Animal Rescue Team moved immediately to aid the evacuated families and their pets, providing critically needed animal sheltering for animals and families who evacuated their homes.
We have deployed more than 30 staff and volunteers to help pets impacted by Hurricane Sandy. We are doing damage assessments and rescue in New Jersey and New York for animals left behind or stranded because of the storm, and we are helping to run two shelters, caring for nearly 200 animals—helping relieve many weary pet owners as they begin to rebuild their lives and homes.
Disaster relief work
Disasters are becoming a big part of the animal protection landscape and as our teams move around the world, bouncing from one disaster to the next, we are made very aware of how fragile our planet has become. Our teams barely have time to draw breath and the misery they face every day takes its toll.
The flood ravaged areas of New Jersey are just now yielding up a steady stream of animals in need of rescue, care and shelter. Many people tried to ride the storm out with their pets, but they have been doing so in flood-damaged homes with no heat and no electricity.
Typical of any disaster we are finding that the needs of the animals become more evident a few days after the full impact of the storm and we are ready to increase our response as needs grow.
The need is both immediate and long-term. Some of the work The HSUS is doing now includes:
Providing care for hundreds of pets at two emergency shelters, with two more shelters soon to open
- Staffing hotlines for New Jersey and New York City
- Sending dozens of staff members and volunteers into the field to respond to calls and perform search and rescue for animals
But in all the chaos and tragedy there are heartwarming reunions and miraculous rescues so we would like to share some of those moments. You can watch the work of The Animal Rescue Team below
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Bear is an 80- pound dog whom The HSUS helped rescued from a severely damaged and flooded Staten Island, NY home after Sandy. About 12 police officers and fire-fighters were on the scene to respond to a potential gas leak at the house when The HSUS arrived, and a terrified Bear was impeding their response. We worked with NYPD and FDNY to retrieve Bear and return him safely to his owner, who had been distraught about him and other animals left behind. Lisa Godfrey for The HSUS
Evacuees enjoy time with their dogs and cats while they are away from home. Lisa J. Godfrey/For The HSUS
We reunited this lost cat with her grateful family. Lisa Godfrey for The HSUS
Related News:
Bloomberg - "Frantic Dogs, Cats Await as Saviors Drive to the Rescue."
You can find the latest news about our Hurricane Sandy deployment on our Twitter feed, and I hope you’ll help support our disaster relief efforts
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