Volunteers with PAWS Chicago returned from Florida on Tuesday with more than 50 pets from shelters in areas hit hard by Hurricane Ian.
Most of the 53 animals were already in shelters when the storm struck. PAWS partnered with Humane Society Naples in Collier County, which operated as the nerve center for animal shelters from the area, to bring the 12 dogs and 41 cats to PAWS Medical Center in Little Village.
“Many of the shelters lost their roof, they’ve closed down, they’ve lost their power,” said Paula Fasseas, founder and chair of PAWS Chicago, the largest comprehensive no-kill animal welfare organization in the Midwest. “They just didn’t have good conditions for these animals.”
Three PAWS rescue vans full of supplies left Chicago for Florida on Saturday morning. The aim of the mission was to empty shelters in the direct path of the storm to make space for a possible influx of animals displaced by the hurricane in the coming days.
“As things get cleaned up, people are gonna be bringing their animals,” Fasseas said. “What’s happened is a lot of people have lost their homes and they’re going to have to move in with family members, and they don’t want their pets.”
Joan Harris, director of canine training and behavior at PAWS Chicago, was one of the eight members of the organization who traveled to Florida over the weekend.
She described some of the devastation they witnessed while traveling from Naples to Tampa.
“Everything was underwater, we pulled over, a lot of gas stations closed,” Harris said. “There was one McDonald’s where we could eat, and it was very limited, there was one thing on the menu.”
Harris said that after they loaded two vans with animals they drove 22 hours “straight through without stopping” from Florida back to Chicago.
Now that the pets are in their new home they will be treated for any medical conditions they may have, though most of the animals were in “pretty good shape,” Fasseas said. Then they will be made available for adoption.
“I would say within the next two days we’ll have some of them at the adoption center,” Fasseas said.
Susanna Wickham, chief executive of PAWS Chicago, said the importance of PAWS being a no-kill organization means every one of the pets will get a chance at a forever home.
“It means we guarantee the life of every pet,” Wickham said. “So all of these pets will get everything they need to ensure a long and successful life.”
The organization plans to make another trip to Florida next week.
Anyone wanting to adopt an animal can go to pawschicago.org.
