AUSTIN, Texas — Fifty shelter animals left Austin on a flight to the East Coast Monday as part of an effort to free up space for pets displaced by this month’s catastrophic Hill Country flooding.
Thirty-nine dogs and 11 cats boarded the flight to Delaware, according to Best Friends Animal Society, which organized the airlift with the Brandywine Valley SPCA, Austin Pets Alive! and Wings of Rescue.
The animals were already in shelters awaiting adoption and will now continue their search for homes at facilities in Delaware, New Jersey, Maine and New York.
Fifty shelter animals left Austin on a flight to the East Coast Monday as part of an effort to free up space for pets displaced by this month’s catastrophic Hill Country flooding. (Photo: Best Friends Animal Society)
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Best Friends said moving animals already in the adoption pipeline out of Central Texas shelters creates room for pets displaced by the floods.
The heaviest rain fell in the predawn hours of July 16, when thunderstorms stalled over Gillespie and Kerr counties, dropping as much as 8 to 10 inches of rain in six to eight hours. The Pedernales River reached major flood stage in Fredericksburg, and the Guadalupe River surged again in Kerr County, which endured deadly flooding last year.
Best Friends is now urging Central Texans to foster or adopt pets displaced by the floods and is directing donations to its Emergency Response Fund to help cover food, medical care, transportation and shelter for affected animals.
Information on adopting or fostering animals from Monday’s flight is available at bvspca.org, pawscares.org and hearforadoption.com.