GTHS assists in rescuing Houston dogs displaced by hurricane

Collingwood, ON (September 18th , 2017) – The Georgian Triangle Humane Society along with the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society is supporting Toronto-based dog Redemption Dogs to rescue dogs displaced in Houston by Hurricane Harvey.

Redemption Dogs is an umbrella canine advocacy group that oversees Redemption Paws, a not-for-profit that helps animal shelters in the aftermath of natural disasters.  Eight volunteers made the drive to Texas and transferred 40 dogs to Ontario to assist Houston-based shelters struggling to care for dogs that had been waiting to be adopted prior to the decimation caused by the hurricane. With the assistance of the Welland & District SPCA, the dogs crossed the border into Ontario on Monday, Sept. 11.

The dogs being brought to Canada range from Chihuahuas, Great Danes, Dalmatians and mixed-breeds in between. Some of the dogs have disabilities and will be looking for compassionate homes. All of the dogs coming to Canada went through Hurricane Harvey while housed in shelters or were relinquished by their owners after the hurricane.

The dogs are currently being cared for by the Ontario SPCA and are undergoing veterinary checks and any necessary medical treatments, including being spayed or neutered, before they will be ready for adoption.

“None of this would have been possible without the support of the community, the volunteers who used their vacation time to go retrieve the dogs or without the Ontario SPCA support to help manage such a large number of dogs, says Nicole Simone, Founder of Redemption Dogs, Director at Redemption Paws

“Having spent time in Houston and being acquainted with their rescue community, it was clear that Houston had a stray dog problem long before Harvey came along. With more and more catastrophic events as a result of climate change, it is important that animals in need are taken into consideration as part of existing local rescue efforts”

“The Georgian Triangle Humane Society is privileged to be part of this rescue effort. By working together, Redemption Dogs was able to add a fourth van to the convoy and save even more dogs.

We’ll be sheltering five of the dogs during the quarantine period while Redemption Dogs arranges adoptions into forever homes. These dogs are symbols of hope and what we can accomplish when we all work together.

We thank everyone involved for in this life-saving work for their compassion and concern for animals.‎ And we thank our donors – our work is only possible because of their support,” says Sonya Reichel, Executive Director, Georgian Triangle Humane Society.

The Georgian Triangle Humane Society commends the citizens of Houston and Redemption Dogs for making this incredible rescue mission possible.‎ We thank the Welland & District SPCA and the Ontario SPCA for their support of the rescue efforts.

Once they are ready to find loving homes, the dogs will be available for adoption through Redemption Dogs.

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