Animals that survived Hurricane Ida now available for adoption in Houston
HOUSTON - They may have four legs, but they are certainly part of the family and entire Houston teams are coming together to make sure Louisiana livestock and pets that survived Hurricane Ida are taken care of.
"Sit, Marshmallow. Good boy," a woman from the Houston Humane Society says to an adorable all white dog with blue eyes as she hand feeds him goodies.
Now receiving treats and lots of love, Marshmallow and dozens of other dogs who rode out the storm in a Louisiana animal shelter had to be rescued after the building they were in was damaged by Hurricane Ida. All 100 of them have now been evacuated by the Houston Humane Society.
"They’re now in our shelter and we’re actually excited because we have some available for adoption today. We have Marshmallow who loves treats, loves playing with toys. We have Cassanova also available; and Rick," explains Angelina Saucedo with the Houston Humane Society.
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"God calls us to love our neighbor. So here we go," says Clint Hewitt with the non-profit Serve Outdoors, which typically takes disabled veterans hunting and fishing but on this day even before sunrise the group is lined up in a Louisiana bound convoy.
The massive effort is put on by deputies from Wharton to Matagorda County who’ve collected donations for days. Now they've loaded up everything from generators to water to food for all family members including the furry ones. "One of our local feed stores Lee Blaylock he donated all kind of cattle feed," Hewitt explains.
"There’s hay. There’s feed, dog, cat food," adds Jeffrey Edmonson with Serve Outdoors.
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A number of Louisiana cattle auctions are now underway because once Ida knocked down fences and flooded fields ranchers didn’t have anywhere to house their livestock. So Houstonians are helping with as many supplies for large and small animals as possible.
"We have crates, puppy pads, cat litter to help those people who really have nothing right now for themselves or their pets," says Saucedo.
By the way, the dogs that now call Houston home are hoping for permanent places and the humane society hopes it happens quickly.
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"Just to make room for more animals that we hope to take in. That being said we are having a 50% off adoption fee for all of the hurricane survivors here at the Houston Humane Society," Saucedo explains.
Before Ida the Houston Humane Society was already at "critical capacity". There are about 400 animals there now. So even if you don’t adopt, the humane society is hoping you'll consider fostering or volunteering.
Click here houstonhumane.org to check out all of the available adorable animals that might fit right in with your family.
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