Hurricane Idalia-Impacted Pets In Florida Take Flight To New Homes

TAMPA, FL — National nonprofits Petco Love, BOBS from Skechers and Wings of Rescue evacuated more than 140 shelter pets out of Florida to support animal welfare organizations in the area after Hurricane Idalia hit the state Aug. 30 as a Category 3 hurricane.

The first flight headed out of the Tampa area, led by the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and the Pet Resource Center of Hillsborough County the day after the hurricane made land. Another flight from northern Florida led by the Jacksonville Humane Society included cats and dogs from JHS and Columbia County shelters.

The flights headed to Delaware where the Brandywine Valley SPCA coordinated the adoption of the pets to families in the surrounding areas.

Lori, a puppy from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, was one of the pets airlifted from the devastated areas hoping to find a new home. The Brandywine Valley SPCA greeted Lori, along with 81 other pets.

Petco Love's "Love Is in the Air" lifesaving disaster flight mission aims to alleviate the burden on Florida animal welfare organizations as they recuperate from the storm and help more pets who were injured or went missing from homes in the hurricane. Every cat and dog on the flight was medically cleared by a licensed veterinarian as able to travel.

"This animal airlift operation is a testament to the remarkable power of collaboration. Working hand in hand, multiple local and national nonprofits came together to facilitate safe and efficient transport of animals to shelters in the north to create capacity at local Florida organizations to serve the community in their time of need," said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love.

"When disaster strikes, our mission is to save at-risk dogs and cats by delivering them to safe havens," said Ric Browde, CEO and president of Wings of Rescue. "And thanks to our partnership with Petco Love and BOBS from Skechers, we are able to save pets in need."

"Through purchases of our BOBS from Skechers offering, we have donated $10 million — much of which has supported animals in crisis. There's no greater example of this than the devastating threat of natural disasters like Hurricane Idalia, and the rapid response of Wings of Rescue and Petco Love is a testament to our great impact when we all band together for good," said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. "As incidents like this increase in severity, we are committed to being there for local shelters across the country and the animals they care for every day."

Petco Love encourages pet parents who lost or found a pet during Hurricane Idalia to use the Petco Love Lost online database to simplify and shorten the lost pet search by using just one photo of a pet. The national lost-and-found pet database is fast, free and easy to use, especially in an emergency like a hurricane.

Patented image-recognition technology enables the database — populated by more than 2,500 shelter locations — to identify and reunite lost pets.

Pet parents can ensure they are prepared for a disaster or emergency by planning ahead, including registering their pets on Petco Love Lost.

Since its founding in 2012, Wings of Rescue pilots have safely and efficiently flown over 68,000 pets out of harm's way and on to new lives. The nonprofit group operates hundreds of missions each year carrying thousands of dogs, cats and other small companion animals to and from locations throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Support the nonprofit by clicking here.