Twenty-four dogs are taking a ride from South Carolina to Massachusetts, as Tropical Storm Debby batters the Carolina coast with historic rainfall. Charleston Animal Society has teamed up with MSPCA-Angell and the BISSELL Pet Foundation to make this transport possible.
"This evacuation is coming at a critical time for us and the Lowcountry," said Charleston Animal Society Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Aldwin Roman. "This will give us some breathing room to potentially help other South Carolina shelters who may be inundated with floodwaters that threaten the lives of animals."
Once they arrive in Massachusetts, the dogs can be adopted after a state-mandated 48-hour hold period
“We have a natural disaster relief program, and we’re committed to jumping in to help, regardless of when these things strike, so when we heard about Debby, we knew needed to immediately pivot," said MSPCA-Angell Vice President of Animal Protection Mike Keiley.
Throughout Tropical Storm Debby, Charleston Animal Society is sheltering more than 750 animals. Spay-neuter surgeries were underway Tuesday morning at its Bear Greer Spay/Neuter Clinic, while the foster and adoption teams were busy with moving more animals into homes. The organization is critically overcapacity as the shelter itself only holds upward of 250 animals.
"While many entities in our area have closed, we have a team of staff who will be staying at the shelter providing 24/7 medical care and enrichment at night for the animals," said Charleston Animal Society President and CEO Joe Elmore. "While we will be closed to the public on Wednesday, we will be continuing to care for the animals here and support other shelters in harm’s way. I couldn’t be more proud of our staff who found ways to get here today to provide lifesaving care to our community’s animals."
If you would like to support continuing transport efforts, to help animals when its needed most, visit CharlestonAnimalSociety.
Charleston Animal Society Schedule
- Tuesday, August 6: 8 am - Noon
- Wednesday, August 7: CLOSED
- Thursday, August 8: TBD
- Friday, August 9: TBD