Pets from states ravaged by hurricanes find shelter in DC region
As many as 100 dogs and cats that were in shelters in the path of Hurricanes Helene and Milton are now looking forward to finding safe, permanent homes in the D.C. area.
Mark Goodhart, operations director for Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, said his organization, based in Fairfax Station, Virginia, has worked with shelters in southeastern states to relocate animals in need of homes.
The animals that are relocated are not those that might have been caught in the storms, but animals that had already been in the care of shelters in areas affected by the hurricanes.
“My understanding is that all of these guys have been through the mandated … ‘stray hold,’” he said.
Those holds are intended to make sure that an animal brought into the shelter was not a lost pet, according to Goodhart.
Moving the animals to this region, Goodhart said, eases the burden on shelters that may now be facing issues related to storm cleanup and the needs of pets and their owners on a local basis.
“It gives them a lot of breathing room to remove the animals that are already in their systems,” he said.
Goodhart said many shelters are already at capacity, so no one agency in the D.C. area was taking in large numbers. Instead, he said, the “Animal Welfare League of Arlington took some, Middleburg Humane took a large amount, Prince William (County has) taken some,” and District Dogs is helping as well, Goodhart said.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington took in 10 cats from Hurricane Helene, “thanks to support from Homeward Trails and Bissell Pet Foundation,” said Chelsea Jones, communications specialist with AWLA, in an email to WTOP.
Jones added, “We are waiting in the wings to accept pets from Hurricane Milton,” explaining that AWLA is in contact with national rescue organizations on the issue.
Goodhart said Homeward Trails has also partnered with District Dogs, the business that operated a doggy day care that was recently ordered to pay $100,000 in a legal settlement to the District of Columbia. That was a result of the case involving flooding at District Dogs’ Rhode Island Avenue location last year. While dozens of dogs were rescued, 10 dogs died in the flooding at the facility.
Goodhart was asked about the partnership with District Dogs and told WTOP, “Our interactions with them have been nothing short of spectacular. They’ve been working very well with us.”
He said the need for permanent homes for pets isn’t limited to one region, or one catastrophic event, and urges anyone who’s been considering getting a pet, or expanding their furry family, to take that step.
“We do frequently have adoption events throughout the DMV,” he said, adding there’s a standing adoption event every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Manny Law Homeward Trails Adoption Center in Fairfax Station.