POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A local organization flew to Texas to rescue pets left stranded by hurricane Harvey, bringing them back to South Florida in hopes of finding the furry friends new homes.
The volunteers at Big Dog Ranch Rescue received calls from two shelters in Harvey’s path of destruction. “We actually got an urgent plea from a shelter that the dogs were pouring in right and left into the Montgomery County fairgrounds,” said Big Dog Ranch Rescue’s president, Lauree Simmons.
One shelter needed to place 56 dogs, so with hard work and quick planning the dogs were in a van and on a flight that landed at Sheltair Pompano.
Another 12 dogs from South Texas are now in South Florida, thanks to celebrity chef Ingrid Hoffman and three phone calls she says brought it all together.
“Do you like Miami? Do you like Miami?” asked Hoffman. “All the volunteers were jealous of the dogs. They’re like ‘Why don’t you take us to Miami?'”
Fetch Care, friends of Miami Animals Foundation, helped make it all happen. The plane that brought the dogs to South Florida was donated by Plane Travel.
Volunteers left Florida, Saturday, and the challenge of such a rescue had them leaving with different animals than they had anticipated.
“I’ve never done this before, for starters,” said Hoffman, “I had no clue what I was getting myself into, and once I realized that I was in over my head, I had no choice but to swim.”
Pilot David Bentolila said they loaded their precious cargo at around 1:30 a.m., stopping for fuel in Alabama on the return trip. “They slept the whole time,” said Bentolila. “They didn’t fuss. They did great.”
All volunteers hope this was just the first trip of many to help animals in desperate need. “This is going to be an ongoing problem,” said Simmons. “With the dogs out there, we are going to turn around right away, as soon as our vans get back and go back and help as many as we can.”
“Imagine that you have your dog, you have to surrender it, and when you go back for it, it’s gone,” said Hoffman “That’s why we need to do this. We need to set up another flight. We need you guys to help us.”
Another 35 dogs are expected to arrive in South Florida on Tuesday.
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