As Hurricane Debby approaches South Carolina, shelter dogs make their way to Massachusetts
SALEM - Just hours before Tropical Storm Debby hit South Carolina, 24 dogs were sent from the southern state to Massachusetts in preparation for the impending storm.
Animal shelters in South Carolina prepare for Debby
The Charleston Animal Society (CAS) in North Charleston, South Carolina, sent the dogs to the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem to make room for animals likely to be impacted by the storm. They are expected to arrive Wednesday.
"By bringing some of the dogs that were living at CAS up to Massachusetts now, we're freeing up space the shelter needs to house dogs impacted by the storm, so they're more likely to be reunited with their loving families," added Mike Keiley, MSPCA-Angell vice president of animal protection, adding that CAS will also use the additional space to bring in dogs from shelters in low country and coastal parts of South Carolina that are more likely to be impacted by flooding.
Tropical Storm Debby could bring record-setting rain and flooding to parts of South Carolina. On Tuesday, MSPCA-Angell received 19 cats from the Darlington Humane Society in Darlington, South Carolina. MSPCA-Angell has a natural disaster relief program. However, the additional dogs could make things tight in local animal shelters, Keiley said.
"Some shelters in those areas house dogs outside, so it's critically important that we're able to free up indoor space for them, and this transport will do that. Unfortunately, it will also cause a capacity crunch in our shelters, so we're pivoting to address that as well."
What's next for South Carolina dogs
The new arrivals range in age from five-months to 3 years old and include terriers, Labrador retrievers, great Pyrenees, and Belgian malinois. The state mandates that dogs must be quarantined for 48 hours before they can be placed for adoption.
"Our capacity for housing dogs was already pretty tight, given the ongoing dog population crisis," Keiley expounded. "We're tapping into our emergency foster network to help house them, but we really need to find permanent loving homes, and fast."
To help find permanent homes, the MSPCA is waiving fees for adoptions from August 7-11 for all dogs one and older at MSPCA shelters:
Boston: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-3p.m.
Nevins Farm: Tuesday-Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m.
Cape Cod: Tuesday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.
Northeast Animal Shelter: Open daily, 11:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.
The cost of caring for the dogs is expected to cost $5,000. Anyone who wishes to donate to the dogs' care can do so at mspca.org/southcarolina.