Grand Strand Human Society takes in Irma animals

Humans weren’t the only cry for help after Hurricane Irma barreled into the west coast of Florida last month. Many dogs and cats were left abandoned by their owners, forced to fend for themselves

The Grand Strand Humane Society (GSHS) in Myrtle Beach teamed up with the ASCPCA to take in a handful of cats and dogs from an animal shelter in Miami, Florida.

The executive director Suzzane Roman of the shelter said this is actually quite common.

“What we do in animal welfare is partner with other organizations and through those partnerships we really save the maximum number of animals we can,” said Roman.

A Miami shelter reached out to the GSHS asking if they could take the current animals they had in order to make room for the strays that would be found during and after the hurricane.

Roman said all the animals they took in from Miami were already available for adoption and that none of them had potential families looking for them in the Miami area.

“Those are the animals that came to us so that the local shelters in Miami could take in victims of the hurricane that needed help, and they wouldn’t be over crowded at that point and could tend to those animals properly,” said Roman.

Volunteer worker Amiee Levi believes her rescue dog is the best thing that’s ever happened to her, and she said it’s important to rescue animals rather than buying from pet stores.

“First of all, these dogs already come from a bad home and are sitting here just waiting, looking for their forever home,” said Levi.

Roman said if people are unable to adopt, they can make a small donation or volunteer as a foster parent to help these animals get ready to go to their “fur-ever” home.