Pets flown from hurricane-damaged Florida get new start

Maple must have been completely confused as she and 44 other dogs and cats were brought aboard a flight from Florida to Indiana.

Just two weeks earlier, the red-and-white speckly pup and her sister Honey were snug with their foster family in Florida. But when Hurricane Milton damaged their foster home, Maple and Honey headed back to Pinellas County Animal Services in Largo.

Honey was quickly adopted, but life had other high-flying plans for Maple. As the shelter took in more than 150 dogs and cats due to the storm, some animals got lifts to other parts of the country to help free up space. Traveling to Indiana would give Maple and her fellow airline passengers a fresh start.

Starting with Hurricane Helene and then with Hurricane Milton, Best Friends has worked with other animal welfare groups to coordinate lifesaving trips for more than 1,000 dogs and cats from impacted shelters in western North Carolina and along Florida’s Gulf Coast to shelters and rescue groups across the country. Best Friends also has provided stipends to other organizations for adoption events to get more dogs and cats into homes, which frees up room for the new arrivals.

Most of the dogs and cats from Maple’s flight went to Vanderburgh Humane Society (VHS) in Evansville, Indiana, while others went to Warrick Humane Society in nearby Newburgh — both Best Friends Network Partners. To make room for them, VHS held a Best Friends-supported, three-day adoption event that resulted in more than 200 pets going to new homes.

[Pets get lifesaving lifts out of Hurricane Milton’s path]

“The level of coordination to get even one transport from point A in Florida to point B is tremendous,” says Sharon Hawa, Best Friends senior manager of emergency services. “All of the necessary steps to make it happen — from identifying the animals to be sent to getting them health certificates so they can travel — is all quite a feat.”

In the past two weeks, Best Friends and partner organizations have gone through this process over and over again, arranging transportation, coordinating driving routes, choosing overnight hubs, and timing trips so that the animals arrive at their destination in a reasonable time frame.

For Kendall Paul, VHS executive director, welcoming the new arrivals was simply the right thing to do. “How could we not offer some help when someday we might need those shelters to be there to help us?” Kendall says.

A week since the animals arrived from Florida, Kendall says everyone, including Maple, is settling in. “She is doing great. She loves to hound around her yard with toys.”

Animals brought in from Florida are headed for bright futures, and so are the dogs and cats from VHS who went to new homes during the three-day adoption event.

One of them was Chavonne, a 3-year-old dog who’d been at the shelter for 10 months. Although she had caught the eye of potential adopters, nothing ever seemed to develop — at least not until a lady named Amber (who a year ago had to say goodbye to her 16-year-old canine companion) showed up.

“I had heard the news reports about animals affected by the hurricanes,” Amber says, “and I was thinking about getting another dog. Suddenly, one day when I was out walking, I knew it was time. I walked to my car as fast as I could. I knew I was going to get a dog that day.”

[Helping hands for pets in 2 Florida shelters]

As she pulled into the VHS parking lot that afternoon, Amber noticed a dog being walked. It was Chavonne, and it was love at first sight. “When I saw her inside, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her,” she says. “... I knew I had a lot of love to give her.”

Chavonne has fit right in with Amber’s family, including her three cats. “They’re all together with us in the living room each evening, each of them laid-back and doing their own thing,” says Amber.

Chavonne goes on daily walks, runs around the yard, takes long naps on the couch, does frenetic zoomies, takes luxuriously long baths, and sleeps all night on the bed. Life is good.

Since Maple and the other dogs and cats arrived at VHS, the staff has been busy — not only taking care of the animals’ needs but also getting the word out to potential adopters. And one of VHS’ Facebook posts about Maple caught the eyes of a couple. They came in to see her and adopted her. The stormy days are in the past. Maple is happy again in a home of her own.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.