Our Emergency Rescue Team made the 1,600-mile roundtrip drive to South Carolina to distribute food, water, litter, leashes, collars, treats, and other critical items to various shelters in desperate need of assistance. All of these items were generously donated by our amazing supporters! We coordinated a supply drive with our friends at Orangeburg SPCA to help them and surrounding South Carolina shelters like Calhoun County Animal Shelter, Berkley Animal Center, New Beginnings Animal Rescue, Project Pet Safe, as well as local residents, who were running out of essentials to care for their beloved pets.

The team returned back to our no-kill campus on Sunday from their week-long journey south, with Mobile Rescue Unit filled with 53 homeless animals – 25 cats, 12 kittens, 5 puppies, and 11 dogs – all of which were rescued from Orangeburg and other nearby shelters before, during, and after the powerful storm barreled through the area. All of these lucky animals were greeted by the smiling faces of our dedicated volunteers and members of our shelter staff, quickly admitted, and then sent over to our Pet Health Centers for full examinations. Many of these animals, having been out in the harsh elements, and are suffering from skin conditions, ear infections, and other ailments that will require immediate medical attention. They will be the recipients of the full gamut of our individualized, compassionate care.

Thanks to your continued support, our Rescue Team is already back on the road equipped with another Mobile Rescue Unit filled with supplies for our shelter partners in Fayetteville, Charlotte and Raleigh. Many of the shelters in these areas, including Fayetteville Animal Protection Society and Humane Society of Charlotte, are overcrowded with displaced animals and in desperate need of food, water, and other essentials, so we are taking swift action to ease the burden as much as we can.

Please continue to support our rescue efforts. Your generosity has the power to positively impact so many lives.

Thanks to the overwhelming outpouring of donations we received from supporters like you, our Mobile Rescue Unit is fully stocked with food, water, litter, blankets, beds, toys, collars, leashes, and many other essential supplies to aid the animals and people of the Carolinas in desperate need of support after Hurricane Florence. Included in the supplies are hundreds of harnesses, leashes, and collars, all of which were generously donated by Walk Your Dog With Love, a company dedicated to making walking your dog “simpler, safer, smarter, and more fashionable.”

Members of our Emergency Rescue Team are making the drive to Orangeburg SPCA in South Carolina to aid in their on-going recovery efforts. Because of your generous support, Animal League America will be able to continue to help the people and animals affected by this devastating storm, but still be prepared to take swift action the next time disaster strikes. Animal League America Rescue Coordinator, Karla Agostinello, who is making the 1600-mile round-trip journey to South Carolina along with Rescue Associate/Driver Ted Moriates, said they will likely be dropping supplies at surrounding shelters in need of support after making the initial stop at Orangeburg.

“We won’t be heading back to New York until the Mobile Unit is empty and we’ve done all we can to provide some sort of relief,” she said. “These people and their animals have been through so much in the past few days – they’re reeling. We’ll be here for as long as it takes and we’ll be bringing animals back with us to help make room for more animals who were separated from their families during the storm. We’ll know more when we get down there and assess the situation.”

As Hurricane Florence passes through the southeast, leaving countless lives uprooted in her wake, we continue to stay prepared. Thanks to those who donated supplies, we have loaded up one of our climate-controlled Mobile Rescue Units and will be heading down to South Carolina to drop them off and rescue even more homeless animals. Please donate today and join us in being the champions these innocent animals so desperately need during these trying times.

As part of our 74-year history of rescue, our no-kill reach is critical. Just like in 2012 with Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Isaac, in 2016 with Hurricane Matthew, and most recently, when Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Harvey caused record-shattering devastation in 2017 – another catastrophic storm is on it’s way and North Shore Animal League America is ready to respond.

As Hurricane Florence bears down on the Carolinas and the surrounding areas, carrying pounding rains and sustained winds of up to 130 mph, we must act fast. Our Emergency Rescue Team is partnering with Martinsville SPCA to rescue 35 dogs and puppies and provide much-needed relief to other shelters in the area –shelters that would otherwise be too overcrowded to offer refuge to local animals when the Category 4 storm hits. Martinsville SPCA is a hub in the Virginia area for all of the surrounding areas, so we continue to work cohesively to ensure the people and their animals of the affected areas will have somewhere to turn if and when disaster strikes.

The rescued dogs and puppies arrived in New York thanks to flight volunteers at Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team (PAART), a 501(c)(3) charity organization that has been transporting homeless animals to safety since 2009. Once safely at our no-kill campus, these animals will receive a complete circle of care^® inside our Pet Health Centers, and provided with a nutritious meal and a comfortable place to rest their weary heads. Each one will need a great deal of additional resources and care – and we hope we can count on your support to help us be the hero these defenseless animals need.

We are also working closely with Orangeburg Lakeside Animal Rescue, one of our Shelter partners in South Carolina, to remove even more animals from impending danger. Our Rescue department is in the process of arranging an emergency transport that will save the lives of another 20+ dogs and puppies. With water levels rising to unseen levels and communities being evacuated, these animals would have been left outside to suffer if not these collaborative rescue efforts. In turn, we would not be able to provide the lifesaving care we do without your generous support. We will stay in constant communication with all of our shelter partners in the affected areas and be ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Please make an urgent donation to support our rescue relief efforts today.