The dogs came from the Humane Society of Sarasota County in Florida after hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FREMONT, Ohio — The Sandusky County Dog Warden is usually busy taking in local animals. But after hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, displaced dogs needed new homes.
“The email simply said, how many can you take?” Kelly Pocock said.
Pocock said she could take six. They arrived on Oct. 12 from the Humane Society of Sarasota County where the hurricanes had displaced hundreds of animals, according to executive director Anna Gonce.
“This is not normally something we would be able to do,” Pocock said. “It's just a matter of, this is an exceptional situation where they really need all the help they can get.”
During the hurricanes, Gonce says her humane society took in over 157 animals but already had 300, which was near capacity.
“Our challenges this time were our resources, both human and tangible, were depleted,” Gonce said.
Gonce says local Florida shelters and the Bissell Pet Foundation, which helps shelters facing overcrowding, worked together to bring in the animals from storms and give them a new home.
In the span of four days, the effort flew the animals from Florida to shelters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.
“Those collaborative relationships, it's friends helping friends type of situation any time you face a disaster like this,” Gonce said.
Pocock and staff members picked up the dogs on Saturday in Akron.
Now, they are in Fremont. Despite being in a small shelter of 20 large kennels, Pocock said she does not regret the decision.
“I've just sat for the last two weeks and watched what all these people are going through on all the social media apps and you feel so helpless,” she said. “So when we had the opportunity to help, there was no way I was saying ‘no.'”
The dogs will be available for adoption starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
