Chattanooga animal shelters are once again prepping for the arrival of furry hurricane evacuees. And over the next few days, McKamey Animal Center and the Humane Educational Society are expecting up to 180 animals between the two of them.
The Humane Society of the United States has been working with a network of shelters in surrounding states to empty shelters in areas expected to be hit by Hurricane Florence. Those animals are being transported to hub shelters in Greenville, South Carolina, where they’ll be picked up by volunteers.
Evan Shepard, the lead canine behavior assessor for McKamey, works on securing kennels in a transport van at McKamey Animal Center on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Shepard will travel with a volunteer to South Carolina to help free up shelter spaces for local animals as Hurricane Florence approaches.“If they can empty the shelters in the impacted areas, they’re empty and ready for any of the animals that need to go there so that their owners can find them,” McKamey Executive Director Jamie McAloon said Wednesday. ” … [Animals] will have a better chance of being reunited with their families.”
McKamey has deployed two teams to Greenville so far, with its first returning at around 2 a.m. Wednesday with about 18 large dogs and eight cats. Another team hit the road Wednesday afternoon, expecting to get about 25-30 animals from that trip.
While McKamey was getting ahead of the storm, the humane society began preparing to handle the problems that come during and after the hurricane.