Jupiter, Fla. (October 6, 2022) – To help disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch is playing a vital role in relocating homeless animals from storm-hit Florida shelters to other parts of the country. Part of a collaborative disaster relief effort with the nation’s largest animal welfare organizations, Furry Friends has partnered with Best Friends Animal Society to move hundreds of dogs and cats outside of the storm-affected areas to safety on their state-of-the-art transport bus, Hope On Wheels.
Earlier this week, Furry Friends transported dozens of dogs and cats to The Anti-Cruelty Society in downtown Chicago to ensure Furry Friends could take in as many homeless animals as possible. On Wednesday, Furry Friends traveled to Pinellas County and Manatee County with Hope On Wheels to help Best Friends Animal Society move more than 200 animals from the hurricane-ravaged West Coast of Florida to shelters in the Northeast. In the coming months, Furry Friends plans to relocate hundreds of more animals affected by Hurricane Ian.
“When Hurricane Ian began heading for the West Coast of Florida, my team sprung into action,” said Jason Gluck, Executive Director of Furry Friends. “Our state-of-the-art animal rescue bus can transport more than a hundred dogs and cats at a time from the storm-hit areas to destination shelters that will place them in loving homes.”
Furry Friends started an ongoing relocation program in March to move homeless animals from overcrowded shelters in Florida to areas where they can thrive. Through their Relocation Program, Furry Friends is committed to reducing animal shelter euthanasia rates in the state, where Florida ranks fourth in the nation.
“Furry Friends is committed to helping our fellow Florida shelters. Our transport relief effort will allow organizations in those devastated areas time and space to rebuild,” said Gluck. “Thanks to Best Friends Animal Society and the destination shelters who are kind enough to take in these animals, we can save more dogs and cats from those places affected by the storm. This disaster relief effort is all about teamwork, and Furry Friends is proud to join with our partners at the national and local level to bring dogs and cats affected by the storm to safety.”
The animals that Furry Friends moved out of Pinellas County and Manatee County on Wednesday were taken to Jacksonville where they were staged and transported to shelters in the Northeast. Tomorrow, Furry Friends will transport another group of more than 100 animals on Hope On Wheels from Jacksonville to shelters in the Midwest, including P.A.W.S. Tinley Park in Tinley Park, Illinois, and I Heart Dogs Rescue and Animal Haven in Warren, Michigan.
About Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & Ranch
Since its inception in 1981, Furry Friends has rescued, rehabilitated, and rehomed animals across Palm Beach and Martin counties. This year, the organization is excited to introduce a slate of new programs aimed at saving lives by helping pets and people. Those initiatives include providing free pet food to needy shelters, pairing senior pups and people, training life-changing service dogs for veterans, transporting animals from overcrowded Florida shelters to eager adopters across the U.S., helping to keep pets in their homes by providing financial and behavioral resources, caring night and day for bottle-fed kittens and pediatric puppies, and encouraging a more compassionate future through our humane education program. For more information, visit furryfriendsadoption.org.
