Chicago animal shelter ‘in urgent need of fosters’ as communities reel from Helene

CHICAGO (TND) — An animal shelter in Chicago is sounding the alarm for help after it took in an influx of pets as Hurricane Helene slammed several states across the U.S.

Anti-Cruelty said it is “in urgent need” of fosters, as thousands families and their four-legged friends were displaced by the storm.

“After a devastating hurricane hit Florida this past week, we are assisting shelters by taking on some of their population,” the shelter wrote on Facebook Monday. “It is our hope this will open up space for animals of families that have lost their homes during this difficult time. Please consider helping by becoming a foster.”

The shelter urged anyone who is able to foster a pet to visit anticruelty.orgor email [email protected] for more information. Interested fosters were asked to watch the “Foster Orientation Video,” take a short quiz, and then select a pet.

“Once foster orientation is complete, new fosters are invited to visit the Foster Candidate page to select a foster candidate who would potentially be a good match,” the website noted. “Once a foster candidate is chosen, the foster parent emails the foster team with the name and animal ID of the animal to express their interest.”

In Florida, the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast is also helping out. Sarah Fisher, who is the communications manager for the non-profit, told WPEC they worked ahead of the storm to protect dozens of pets that were housed in outdoor kennels.

“We got an email just a few days ago stating that there was some desperate need for shelters up in that area to evacuate their dogs because their dogs were in outside kennels that were already being flooded by previous storms,” Fisher told WPEC last week.

Jane Tomsich, who is the director of operations with Peggy Adams Animal Rescue in West Palm Beach, told WPEC they welcomed 12 animals.

“There was a serious concern about flooding and just flying debris, and so we needed to get these dogs out,” Tomish said.

Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, several feet of water swamped the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, forcing workers to move two manatees and sea turtles. All of the animals were safe but much of the aquarium’s vital equipment was damaged or destroyed, said James Powell, the aquarium’s executive director.

In North Carolina, animals were reportedly stranded on farms. A video shared on X appears to show a horse stuck alongside a stable that’s surrounded by floodwaters.

“The owner couldn’t get to the horse in time, and the trailer was washed away. Updates are being posted on our Facebook page, and the horse has not yet been found,” a woman noted on X.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said the storm “literally spared no one.”

Most people in and around Augusta, a city of about 200,000 people near the South Carolina border, were still without power Monday, and Kemp and other officials tried to reassure residents that they felt their misery.

President Joe Biden on Monday said at least 107 people were reported dead, with more than 600 still unaccounted for.

With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene was the deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the state since Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston in 1989, killing 35 people.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.