Florence floods shelter, homeless pets now in CLT

CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) – Flooding from Florence shows no bounds. Families have had to escape their homes and so have pets who never had a place to call home. Many of those animals are now calling the Queen City home.

“You know you never really know what’s going to happen until the storm hits,” said Emily Cook from the Humane Society of Charlotte.

At landfall Hurricane Florence lived up to her expectations by dumping feet of rain along the coast. Entire neighborhoods are now threatened by flooding, including areas near Lumberton in Robeson County.

More than 150 animals were stuck in a flooded out shelter near Lumberton and were saved by ASPCA volunteers. For now, 75 of them are calling the Humane Society of Charlotte home.

“We just tried to make ourselves as ready as possible to take in those animals and make sure we have as much room as we can to provide help when it was needed,” said Cook.

That assistance, came into play Monday night when pets of all ages arrived. They were examined throughout the day Tuesday. The hope is the animals could be available for adoption by the end of the week.

The ASPCA and Humane Society of Charlotte have weathered storms before. Just two years ago, Hurricane Matthew flooded many of the same areas in North Carolina. That storm also sent pets from flooded shelters to the Queen City.

“We hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst and I think we got somewhere in the middle,” said Cook.

Volunteers at the Humane Society say they have been overwhelmed with donations. So much so, they have no more room to store supplies. If you would like to help they’re asking for monetary donations to help take care of the animals in the future.