SALEM — The Northeast Animal Shelter is taking in over 40 cats and dogs from South Carolina this week to keep them safe from Tropical Storm Debby and hopefully find them new homes in Massachusetts.
The 24 dogs are expected to arrive in Salem by noon Wednesday on a transport sponsored by the Bissell Pet Foundation, just before the worst of the storm hits South Carolina, the MSPCA-Angell said in a statement.
The group of rescues includes Terriers, Labrador Retrievers, Great Pyrenees and Belgian Malinois.
Ranging in age from five months to three years, the dogs come from the Charleston Animal Society — one of the many organizations in the path of a storm that could bring potentially historic rainfall and severe flash flooding this week to the southeastern United States, the National Weather Service said.
A tornado warning is in effect for parts of Georgia and South Carolina after the storm killed at least four people in Florida, according to multiple media reports.
Nineteen cats will also arrive in Salem this week from Darlington Humane Society in Darlington, South Carolina. That area isn’t expected to be as battered by the storm, but the shelter “still needs assistance readying for the impact,” the MSPCA said in its statement.
The animals will be up for adoption following a state-mandated, 48-hour quarantine. They’ll receive any medical attention they need during that time, and some might be transferred to other MSPCA shelters in the area once their quarantine is up.
“This summer has been incredibly busy for us,” said Mike Keiley, MSPCA-Angell vice president of animal protection. “Our coalition work is just getting underway, and we have a lot of ambitious plans, but natural disasters never come at a convenient time.
“We have a natural disaster relief program, and we’re committed to jumping in to help, regardless of when these things strike, so when we heard about Debby, we knew we needed to immediately pivot.”
The dogs were up for adoption while still down in South Carolina. Their transport frees up space for shelters there to house dogs displaced by the storm, making those pups “more likely to be reunited with their loving families,” Keiley said, and dogs that are at shelters in parts of South Carolina more likely to flood.
“Some shelters in those areas house dogs outside, so it’s critically important that we’re able to free up indoor space for them, and this transport will do that,” he said. “Unfortunately, it will also cause a capacity crunch in our shelters, so we’re pivoting to address that as well.”
The MSPCA expects to spend $5,000 on caring for these animals, according to the statement.
A special emergency fee-waived adoptathon at the MSPCA will be held Wednesday-Sunday to help find the animals and others a home. All dogs age 1 and older can be adopted without a fee during this period.
“Our capacity for housing dogs was already pretty tight, given the ongoing dog population crisis,” Keiley said. “We’re tapping into our emergency foster network to help house them, but we really need to find permanent loving homes, and fast.”
Visit mspca.org/feewaived for more information about this adoptathon.
To donate to the MSPCA’s effort to care for animals displaced by Tropical Storm Debby, go to mspca.org/southcarolina.
Contact Caroline Enos atCEnos@northofboston.com