With much of Texas is still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a Nova Scotia animal rescue is doing their part to ensure some of the four-legged victims aren’t forgotten.
Volunteers with the Save A Life Canada Animal Rescue Society (SALCARS) rolled into Dartmouth on Tuesday evening with a van load of rescue dogs from high-kill shelters within the San Antonio area.
“It is an absolute fabulous feeling to know that they’re here, they’re free, they’re not at risk of being put to sleep anymore,” said rescue director Becki Carpenter.
26 dogs made the cross-country journey, travelling more than 4,000 km. It marks the second time the group has brought dogs from Texas to Nova Scotia with the help of their partner rescue, Handme-Down Hounds.
READ MORE: Hurricane Harvey: More than 30 dogs rescued from Houston arrive in Ontario
Carpenter said the dogs were already in shelters in the San Antonio area before the storm hit. Since much of the attention and resources have been focused on the Houston area, they wanted to ensure that dogs in the outlying areas were not forgotten about.
“Stray dogs [are] everywhere, many shelters are full. Dogs get put down every day just to make room for the new dogs that are coming in.”
In addition to rescuing dogs from high-kill shelters in places like Texas, California and Oklahoma, about a quarter of SALCARS’ rescues come from surrender situations within Atlantic Canada.
READ MORE: Dog deemed ‘unadoptable’ joins Texas search-and-rescue efforts in Harvey aftermath
When asked about why they would offer to help dogs from another country when there are plenty of animals that need homes here already, Carpenter said their organisation doesn’t decide whether or not a dog is worth saving based on its location alone.
“We really don’t have as much of a stray problem here in the Maritimes. In Nova Scotia, dogs are not put to sleep due to overcrowding,” she said, adding that an average of 7000 dogs are euthanized every day in shelters across the US.
“There’s perfectly happy, healthy dogs sitting in the shelters being put to sleep simply because they need room to bring in the other strays that have been picked up.”
The latest group of rescues will remain with their foster families for the next two weeks. In the meantime, SALCARS will begin processing adoption applications to find their forever homes.