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Houston SPCA heads to Bahamas to aid animal victims of Hurricane Dorian
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PHOTOS: Hurricane Dorian wreaks havoc on Bahamas
Humans are not the only victims of Hurricane Dorian. Thousands of stray animals were left to their own devices, while others were displaced from their owners after they sought refuge.
>>>See more for photos of the devastation from Hurricane Dorian…PHOTOS: Hurricane Dorian wreaks havoc on Bahamas
Humans are not the only victims of Hurricane Dorian. Thousands of stray animals were left to their own devices, while others were displaced from their ownersPhoto: Houston SPCA
PHOTOS: Hurricane Dorian wreaks havoc on Bahamas
Humans are not the only victims of Hurricane Dorian. Thousands of stray animals were left to their own devices, while others were displaced from their owners after they sought refuge.
>>>See more for photos of the devastation from Hurricane Dorian…
PHOTOS: Hurricane Dorian wreaks havoc on Bahamas
Humans are not the only victims of Hurricane Dorian. Thousands of stray animals were left to their own devices, while others were displaced from their owners
Photo: Houston SPCA
The Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) left for the Bahamas early Wednesday morning to help aid animal victims of Hurricane Dorian.
Named the worst disaster in Bahamian history, Hurricane Dorian nearly obliterated the islands killing at least 50 people in its wake, according to Reuters. More than 1,300 people are still missing weeks after the storm, the Associated Press reported.
But humans are not the only victims of the devastating storm. Thousands of stray animals were left to their own devices, while others were displaced from their owners after they sought refuge.
Nearly 80 dogs died during the storm at the Humane Society of Grand Bahama’s office, the Washington Post reported. One Bahamian woman went so far as to take nearly 100 rescue dogs into her own home to save them from the storm.
“I just can’t imagine the terror that they felt, and I’ll never get over that,” Elizabeth “Tip” Burrows, the shelter’s executive director, told The Washington Post. “It was brutal.”
ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Bahamian survivors of Hurricane Dorian flee to Florida, an uncertain future
In an effort to aid animal victims, the Houston SPCA will spend the next week in Nassau providing daily care for hundreds of displaced animals, according to a release from the SPCA.
“The Houston SPCA’s extensive experience in emergency response, especially in the care of traumatized animals, is an asset in the aftermath of natural disasters like Hurricane Dorian,” Shannon Walajtys, Program Director Disaster Response and Risk Reduction at the International Fund for Animal Welfare said in the release. “IFAW and the Houston SPCA worked collaboratively during Hurricane Harvey, and we value the work they do in helping to save animals in need.”
The Houston SPCA has helped assist displaced animals in various other natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey, the 2016 Houston Tax Day and Memorial Day Floods, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike, the Tri-County Wildfires of 2011 and the Gulf Oil spill in 2010, per the release.
TO THE RESCUE: How Texas A&M vets helped save 100 animals after Tropical Storm Imelda
Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com