Helping our Furry Friends after Hurricane Harvy
by Maile Hulihan
Want to help the animals displaced by Hurricane Irma & Harvey? Like you, I’ve seen the heartbreaking photos of animals left behind, some cruelty tied to a tree. But we can make a difference— even from a distance.
Report or Find Missing Animals:
Best Friends, which runs the largest no-kill sanctuary in the U.S., is running a clearing house to bring pets & their humans together. Click on this link https://bestfriends.org/hurricane-irma/lost-and-found-pets to report a missing animal or to let others know you’ve found one.
Adopt:
You can be a foster or permanent parent to an animal displaced by the hurricanes. Check with your local animal shelters or organizations which may have already taken in needy animals to give them medical care and shelter. For instance, here’s a list of organizations in the Chicago areawww.nbcchicago.com/…/how-to-help-animals-affected-by-hurric…looking for people to take animals into their homes.
Volunteer:
Got an airplane or fingers to dial? You can match your skills with what’s needed to help animal refugees through this link of https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp….
If you are a resident of Texas, join the https://m.facebook.com/groups/HurricaneHarveyAnimals.Rescue.Support/ for information on how to support local rescue groups and help those in need.
Shelters taking in Gulf Coast animals will be working overtime to care for the extra mouths that need feeding and legs that need walking. Austin Pets Alive! https://www.austinpetsalive.org/, which has already saved hundreds of stranded animals, is accepting permanent volunteers to help with the influx. Register online first before showing up to a shelter.
Donate:
The Humane Society of the U.S. www.humanesociety.org/?credit=web_id93480558 has been working tirelessly with local groups to evacuate animals trapped in shelters hit hardest by Hurricanes Harvey & Irma. You can donate through the link above.
Before donating food or supplies, remember to check the shelters’ website and Facebook page to see if they have specific requests for items. To get an idea of what’s needed, check out the City of Antonia Animal Care Service’s the https://www.amazon.com/…/wishl…/1G9EQVIYRYS0G/ref=cm_sw_su_w’s Amazon Wish List and the SPCA of Texas’s https://www.spca.org/shelterwishlist’s top-requested items.
If you want to raise money yourself to aid the animals, one place to start to learn about what you can do is to check out the Humane Society’s home page www.humanesociety.org/…/animal_res…/tips/pets-disaster.html…. To contribute to someone else’s fundraiser use this link to connect to the Facebook page of Humane Society supporters https://www.facebook.com/pg/humanesociety/fundraisers/.
Thanks for all you do to help animals.
