PAWS Chicago Will Take In Pets From Louisiana Floods

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 23, 2016 8:36PM

In the chaos of traumatic flooding that destroyed parts of Louisiana over the past week, people aren't the only ones suffering. Natural disasters like floods can leave family pets injured or stranded.

According to The Atlantic, Hurricane Katrina left more than 600,000 animals dead or stranded. The animal toll of this month's flooding isn't yet clear, but veterinarians and volunteers at Chicago's PAWS animal shelter (the city's largest no-kill facility) are planning on shrinking it at least a little. Representatives of the shelter will leave Wednesday, according to a press release, and drive 13 hours down to the affected area where they'll retrieve affected pets that need new homes and bring them back to Chicago.

The group plans to round up dozens of cats and dogs who were given up by their owners or were already in overcrowded shelters. As the state deals with the storm and its aftermath, those shelters will only get more strapped for resources. The volunteers and vets will return to Chicago overnight Thursday, where they'll transport the animals to PAWS Chicago Medical Center in Little Village for microchipping, vaccinations, spay/neuter surgeries and other medical attention. The pups and kitties will make their public Chicago debut Friday.

The shelter will need additional supplies and foster system volunteers prepared to deal with injuries, medical conditions or traumatic stress from which some of the animals could likely be struggling, PAWS said.