PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Employees and volunteers with the Oregon Humane Society took off from PDX Wednesday morning to help staff animal shelters in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
The ASPCA put out the call for help last week as their shelters were flooded with hundreds of evacuated animals.
“All these animals ahead of the storm were brought to an emergency shelter in South Carolina,” said OHS volunteer Michele Lytle. “They’ve been housing over 500 animals.”
OHS deployed two teams Wednesday to Atlanta and South Carolina, respectively.
“(The ASPCA) just said they need our help and we’re showing up to do whatever they need us to do,” said OHS employee Tyreen Jarrell.
The workers will spend a week cleaning, feeding and medicating the animals, before eventually helping them find their homes. For some of the animals, that could end up being back here in Oregon.
“We will be bringing animals back, we just have to arrange transportation,” Lytle said. “We did that with Katrina, I worked on that rescue as well, and we brought 80 dogs back.”
The OHS workers heading to South Carolina said they knew their help would be necessary following such a strong storm, and they were happy to lend a hand.
“I didn’t know for sure if OHS was going to respond to that call, but they did, and I think that’s a great thing,” said OHS employee Danielle Works. “The love of animals, right? I mean, that’s the whole point.”