Bob Collins
The remnants of Hurricane Ike hit Minnesota today. Fifty-nine dogs who were abandoned or otherwise made homeless by the hurricane along the Gulf Coast arrived in the Twin Cities this morning and will be put up for adoption in a few weeks. Another 60 will probably arrive next week. Northwest Airlines has donated the space to fly them here.
Laurie Brickley, a spokeswoman for the Animal Humane Society, told me this afternoon that a few weeks ago a team from the Society headed to Texas to help with wildlife in the aftermath of the hurricane. “They were approached by a woman who runs a shelter who said, ‘I’ve got 200 dogs and I’m at my wit’s end. There’s no power and we’re living in tents.'”
Thus, the airlift was born. Minnesota has one of the five largest Human Societies in the country.
“They (the Gulf Coast) don’t have the cat overpopulation in that area that we do here,” according to Brickley. “They have a dog overpopulation and we don’t.”
The dogs will be checked for temperament, sterilized, and microchips will be implanted. “They look really healthy,” she said.
“Is the clock ticking on these dogs?” I asked.
“Absolutely not,” Brickley said. “It’s one of the biggest misnomers out there.” The Humane Society keeps the dogs until they’re adopted. They’re not euthanized.
When the dogs are ready for adoption, pictures of the dogs will be posted on the Society’s Web site and it’ll be noted that they’re “Hurricane Ike dogs.”
Not directly related but still interesting: This video of a rescue crew during Hurricane Ike, rescuing a dog.
