After the floods that devastated Kerr County and surrounding areas, hundreds of shelter dogs and cats are heading north in hopes of finding new homes.
Wings of Rescue, a nonprofit pet transport charity, flew more than 120 pets to Fort Worth early Wednesday morning, leaving some with their new foster families before bringing the rest to Kanab, Utah. Another flight will arrive in North Texas on Thursday.
The rescue transports free up shelter space to make room for pets displaced by the flood, said Nelda Corbell, co-president of Wings of Rescue.
"This is just a small part of what we can do to make things better, getting pets out," she said.
Wings of Rescue partnered with local shelters, including the Humane Society of North Texas and SPCA of Texas, to find emergency fosters for the animals.
Sarah Sheek, a senior director for the SPCA of Texas, said their team is ready and able to respond to natural disasters like this.
"It requires popping up flex spaces for the pets so that they have a kennel to go into,” Sheek said. “It's just a matter of making sure that we're moving quickly. Getting as many dogs adopted as possible, so that we can continue to take in pets who are going to need us.”
Wings of Rescue also brought humanitarian and veterinary relief to flood-hit communities.
Emily Hussey is the senior fundraising consultant at CUDDLY, a fundraising platform for animal rescues and shelters that donated hundreds of bags of pet food. She said there’s still a need for supplies and other donations.
“The entire community is affected, and it spreads wider than just the central area,” Hussey said.
Olla Mokhtar is KERA’s news intern. Got a tip? Email Olla at omokhtar@kera.org.
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