Hurricane Harvey left an enormous amount of devastation in its wake. All across Houston, property was destroyed; families were separated by the torrential downpour and flooding.
Perhaps one of the most tragic outcomes of the tropical storm is that so many fleeing evacuees made the heartbreaking decision to leave their family pets behind. Due to the difficulties of safely leaving Houston or finding alternate accommodations, a number of dogs and cats were abandoned.
Thankfully, countless heroes (including Miranda Lambert!) have come forward to help these animals either find new homes or reunite with their lost families. One recent example finds Southwest Airlines coming together with California-based Helen Woodward Animal Center to safely remove dozens of shelter pets from the flooded city and overcrowded shelters.
Scroll through to learn more about these brave cats and dogs and the amazing people who saved them!
Thumbnail Photo: Twitter / Southwest Airlines
[H/T: Bustle]
If you’re looking to help the victims of the recent hurricanes, consider donating to the Red Cross, or take a look at these eight ways you can lend a hand.
In a series of Facebook posts, the Helen Woodward Animal Center shared the story of their cross-country animal rescue. They explained in a post the day before the flight:
Last week, staff members from Helen Woodward Animal Center boarded a Southwest Airlines plane, bound for Texas. Hundreds of Houston’s orphan pets, who had been waiting for forever homes in shelters before the storm hit, were in desperate trouble with their shelters underwater and uninhabitable due to Hurricane Harvey’s destructive path.
It’s the big day! Our #Houston team, with tons of help, loaded up the crew and left The Woodlands, Texas, around 6:45 a.m. local time (4:45 a.m. our time) headed toward the Austin airport,” they captioned several photos of the volunteer team loading up the rescued pets and preparing them for their big trip.
The shelter pets had to be moved to make room in Texas animal shelters for pets who already had homes.
Dogs and cats whose owners had been displaced by the storm needed to be moved in to shelters temporarily. The hope, of course, is that the newly-housed pets in the shelters will be able to reunite with their families in time. But for now, they need a place to stay.
Dozens of crates filled with dogs and cats looking for their forever homes filled the Southwest Airlines flight that departed on September 5, 2017.
Even though they had a long day of preparing the animals (and paperwork!) for the more than 1,000 mile flight, the volunteers and Southwest pilots and employees still found time to sneak in a few puppy and kitten cuddles.
"These are the silent victims," said Mike Arms, Helen Woodward Animal Center president. "There are shelters that have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey, without electricity, without supplies."
HWAC worked in partnership with the Texas rescue group Operation Pets Alive! to rescue the animals.
"Operation Pets Alive! has taken in an overwhelming number of orphan dogs and cats who had inhabited those shelters before the storm and were suddenly facing euthanasia simply because they had no place to go," the HWAC president continued. "We are honored to help save those lives, and we are lucky to have incredible friends like Southwest to help make this all possible."
Southwest Airlines, HWAC, and local news reporters all shared pictures before, after, and during what is undoubtedly the cutest flight ever.
According to HWAC's website, they previously partnered with Southwest in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy to fly dogs and cats out of New Jersey. In 2005, HWAC did the same for animals in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The crew, volunteers, and animals all landed safely in San Diego, where they were unloaded and examined.
If you're interested in adopting a Hurricane Harvey pet from HWAC, please go to their website. Cats and dogs specifically rescued from a Harvey-impacted shelters are marked with a special "Harvey Rescue" stamp on the pet's profile picture.
Isn't it amazing that so many people have come together to help these displaced dogs and cats?
Don't forget to SHARE this heartwarming story on Facebook with the other animal lovers in your life!
