ARC aids shelters slammed by Florence
The Animal Refuge Center has come to the rescue of animals housed in a shelter overwhelmed with need as Hurricane Florence approached the Carolinas.
The North Fort Myers no-kill shelter took in 19 cats and seven dogs on Friday from a South Carolina animal shelter, saving them from being euthanized.
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue made the 11-hour overnight trip from its home base to Fairfield County Animal Control in Williston, S.C. and then to Southwest Florida late Friday afternoon.
Brother Wolf and ARC have worked together over the years. For example, in 2015, they also brought 26 animals to ARC in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin, 11 dogs and 15 cats.
“We saw the weather coming and I reached out to Brother Wolf to see if they needed assistance moving anybody out,” said Wayne Leinen, ARC executive director. “They said they were fine, but knew of a county shelter that was facing mass euthanasia as an option.”
Leinen started talking to the shelter and arrangements were made quickly. It took Brother Wolf two hours to get to the shelter, then nine hours to drive south to ARC.
Leinen said that ARC will usually meet partners halfway, but because of the short notice and little in the way of logistics, it wasn’t possible.
ARC was prepared for the likelihood of health issues, and set up an intake process in advance of the animals arriving.
Each rescued animal was cleaned up, fed and examined once at the shelter. At least two had heartworm and one was pregnant and expecting at any time.
“There’s no way you’re going to take animals from a situation like that and not expect medical issues when they get here,” Leinen said.
After arriving, the animals were to spend at least 10 days in medical quarantine before being evaluated for adoption.
Leinen said other major disasters it has worked include hurricanes Harvey and Matthew. ARC has also taken in many animals from poor shelters in Louisiana, where many good animals have come from, as well as in mass hoarding situations.
ARC has formed partnerships with numerous other shelters and organizations.
But while it takes in a good many animals, they don’t take them to other shelters.
“We take animals in with the intention of keeping it happy, healthy and finding a permanent home for it,” Leinen said. “We try to have space available to everybody, but with a hurricane and the choice of taking in animals or have them be euthanized, it’s a no-brainer.”
The Animal Refuge Center is at 11801 Old Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers.
ARC is Southwest Florida’s largest no-kill shelter and vows that once an animal is accepted, it will not be destroyed to make room for another.