GEORGETOWN, Del. - As Tropical Storm Barry unleashes its wrath on the Gulf Coast, Wings of Rescue flies animals east to safety at the Brandywine Valley SPCA.
Operations Manager Chris Farrall says 58 dogs came to them from shelters in Mississippi, two-thirds of which are puppies. "There's already some flooding, so it's a lot of moving dogs out of the local shelters to make space for animals that may be displaced from the storm," he says.
Wings of Rescue went in and evacuated the animals. The non-profit's plane touched down at Delaware Coastal Airport in Georgetown around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Tim Adams was one of sixteen volunteers there to greet them. "We carry them down, lift them down, hand them off," he explains. "We're then taking the crates, putting them into our vans, and from there we took them to our ARC rescue center."
BVSPCA staff was at the Animal Rescue Center (ARC) until about midnight on Sunday, getting all of the new arrivals checked in.
Farrall says the dogs are resting up from their flight and getting ready for adoption.
"We will be getting them spayed and neutered," he explains. "Anybody that needs any vet checks or medical attention, that will happen over the course of the next couple of days."
This is the 17th flight for BVSPCA and Wings of Rescue.
"Anytime we can be of assistance when there's a natural disaster or anytime there's an area that needs to move some animals out quickly, it feels great to be able to have the resources to step in and help," says Farrall. He adds that it's also nice to watch them find homes rather quickly from BVSPCA's campuses.
The pets once waiting for new homes in Mississippi will be ready for adoption later this week at BVSPCA'S Georgetown, New Castle, and West Chester campuses.
It's puppy season in the south and three of the female dogs on this flight came with a litter of puppies. These pets can't be adopted until they are at least 8 weeks old, so BVSPCA is looking for foster families to help care for them in the meantime. for the foster application.
