The first of about 60 shelter dogs and cats that were displaced by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast will be adopted out of the Helen Woodward Animal Center on Monday.
The Rancho Santa Fe animal center teamed up with SeaWorld Rescue Team and Southwest Airlines to take in the animals over the weekend. The animals were all living at inundated shelters prior to the storm. Many of these shelters were without power, over crowded and even under water and without easy access to food and supplies during the storm.
“Pets have no idea where they live. They don’t know if they live on the East Coast or the West Coast. They just know they want to be close to humans,” said Mike Arms, president of the Helen Woodward Animal Center on Tuesday.
The animals were flown to Lindbergh Field on a donated charter, chaperoned by rescue staff and later taken to the center, in Rancho Santa Fe.
Arms explained that Southwest took as many crated animals on a single flight as was safe. Each crate was placed onto of a seat and each pet was giving “first class treatment,” according to Arms.
“These are the silent victims,” Arms said.
The Helen Woodward Animal Center is seeking donations at animalcenter.org/hurricanesandypets to fund care for the animals until they are adopted. Many of the animals are still receiving medical treatment, vaccinations and being spayed and neutered and will be ready for adoption in the next few days.
To see all 242 animals available for adoption, please visit animalcenter.org/adoptions.
—City News Service contributed to this report.
