Community Corner
First Hurricane Florence Dog Already Arrived In Edison
Much like after Hurricanes Maria and Harvey, local shelters are anticipating an influx of rescue dogs.
EDISON, NJ — A dog rescued from the impending Hurricane Florence has already arrived at the Edison Animal Shelter, and other shelters in New Jersey are also preparing for an influx of rescue dogs from the Carolinas.
Skip, pictured above, was brought to Edison from a Myrtle Beach shelter in anticipation of flooding. He's a two year old Shepherd mix, and is good with dogs and kids. For more information on adopting skip, visit the Edison Animal Shelter (125 Municipal Blvd. in Edison) between noon and 4 p.m., or call 732-248-7278.
Skip is not the only Hurricane Florence pup to make his way to the Garden State. Somerset Regional Animal Shelter already received some dogs from Greenville, South Carolina who evacuated ahead of the storm, as well as dogs locally from St. Hubert's who is also making room to accommodate pets in need.
Find out what's happening in Edison-Metuchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"We are preparing to help shelters down there," said Brian Bradshaw, Director of SRAS. "They are emptying out shelters and bringing them up north."
Florence, currently a category 4 hurricane, is expected to reach the Mid-Atlantic by Thursday night. It could be approaching a category 5 storm when it does, the National Weather Service warned.
Find out what's happening in Edison-Metuchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Shelters in the area saw a large influx of rescue pets after Hurricanes Maria and Harvey last year. Many of the dogs were rescued from shelters that had flooded.
Nora Parker with St. Hubert's said another transport is coming in tonight from Greenville with about another 12 dogs expected.
Parker described the situation as "fluid." Meaning the numbers can continuously change as the situation progresses.
Right now, St. Hubert's is working with the shelters in Greenville, SC to take some of their pets that are already up for adoption and bring them to New Jersey. This will make room down south for evacuee pets to stay local.
"The best way to handle this is to move the animals, not the victims of the storms," Parker said. "These are not people's pets, these are pets already looking for new homes."
With reporting by Alexis Tarrazi
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