Tampa Bay Rescue Groups Provide Pups With Shelter From The Storm

LAND O' LAKES, FL — Among the victims of Hurricane Ida, which slammed into Louisiana and Mississippi at noon Sunday, Aug. 29, were more than 50 shelter dogs who arrived in Pasco County just as Ida made landfall, packing 150-mph winds and bringing 8 to 12 feet of storm surge.

A team of hardworking volunteers managed to crate the homeless dogs living at the Humane Society of South Mississippi, load them into a truck and drive them 547 miles from Gulfport, Mississippi, to the Pasco County Animal Services in Land O' Lakes in the nick of time.

The team of volunteers from the Charleston Animal Society in Charleston, South Carolina, pulled up to the Pasco animal shelter just as Ida began pummeling Mississippi and Louisiana with 150-mph winds and 8 to 12 feet of storm surge, knocking down power lines and flooding streets.

The evacuated pups, oblivious to the disaster they had barely escaped, were just anxious to get out of the crates and stretch their legs.

As the Category 4 hurricane drew closer to the Gulf states, members of the Charleston Animal Society reached out to Pasco County Animal Services, asking if the shelter would be willing to take in some homeless dogs living at the Gulfport no-kill shelter.

“We are absolutely over capacity,” said Katie King, development director for the Humane Society of South Mississippi. “In the wintertime, our numbers are around 200 to 300." But as Hurricane Ida moved into the Gulf of Mexico, the shelter was over capacity with 570 homeless pets.

Pasco County Animal Services Director Mike Shumate didn't hesitate to lend a hand.

"Our main goal is to help the people and pets of Pasco, but when a disaster like Hurricane Ida happens, we do what we can to help those affected," Shumate said. “We always try to help each other out."

With the possibility of power outages and flooding, evacuating animals from shelters in the storm's path is essential, Shumate said. It's a lesson borne out when Hurricane Dorian struck Freeport, Grand Bahama, on Sept. 2, 2019.

The Humane Society of Grand Bahama had an estimated 300 dogs and cats in the Freeport Shelter when Dorian made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, the strongest hurricane to hit the Bahamas. The 15-foot tidal surge by Dorian swamped the shelter before workers could get all the animals out.

At one point, Humane Society Executive Director Tip Burrows said six workers were neck-deep in flood waters, trying to open cages to release the animals while dodging debris that was forced into the shelter by the hurricane-force winds and storm surge.

They managed to save 74 dogs and 77 cats.

See related story: Update: 15 More Dogs Found Hiding Behind Freeport Pet Shelter

Hoping to avoid a repeat of that disaster, the Gulfport and Charleston teams worked all night crating the dogs and stowing them in the truck, pulling out of Gulfport, Mississippi at 1 a.m. Sunday.

After arriving at Pasco County Animal Services, the dogs were distributed to nearby partner rescue shelters including the Suncoast Animal League. Suncoast Animal League of Palm Harbor, the SPCA Tampa Bay in Largo and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay in Tampa.

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay and SPCA Tampa Bay each took 15 dogs from the Mississippi shelter.

The Suncoast Animal League took in 12 dogs from Mississippi on top of more than 20 dogs and puppies they'd already taken in from the St. Landry Parish Animal Control in Louisiana.

The remaining dogs continued on with the Charleston team to the Jacksonville Humane Society and the Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach, which agreed to take in the remaining evacuees.

"The Humane Society of South Mississippi would like to send a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all our amazing lifesaving partners for stepping up and helping us safely evacuate 150 animals to shelters out of harm’s was prior to Hurricane Ida," said King in a letter to shelters in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina and Washington, D.C., which all agreed to take some of the pets.

"There is never a lot of preparation time before a major storm threat is upon us, so their rapid responsiveness and ability to make arrangements to accept and transport these pets was truly remarkable," King said. "Our deepest gratitude goes out to each and every one of you for always having our back and making vulnerable pets a top priority."

"We’re proud of how quickly our team sprang to action as soon as they found out about this effort," Shumate said. "We’re honored that others in the animal welfare field know they can count on us when they’re in need. We’re thrilled to work together to save lives."

Although the four-legged hurricane evacuees got all the media attention, Pasco County Animal Services has more than 45 dogs of its own that still need permanent homes.

On Saturday, Sept. 18, from noon to 6:30 p.m., the shelter at 19640 Dogpatch Lane will participate in the annual national Clear the Shelters initiative during which adoption fees for all available dogs and cats are waived.

Pasco residents will be required to purchase a county license for each pet adopted. Adoptions include spay or neuter surgery, vaccinations and microchipping.

This year’s NBCUniversal Local’s Clear The Shelters™ campaign will also feature online donations through Greater Good Charities.

Those interested in donating to the PCAS and other participating shelters can visit click here.

Pasco County Animal Services assisted humane organizations in finding shelter for dogs at the Humane Society of South Mississippi following Hurricane Ida.

These are some of the more than 45 dogs available for adoption at Pasco County Animal Services. Click here to see all animals available for adoption.