Pilot Helps Transport Animals to Safer Places to Escape Hurricane Dorian

Unfortunately, although many people find it simple to flee perilous circumstances like Hurricane Dorian, homeless animals do not.

Despite forecasts for the storm shifting from that location, which was ground zero, to presumably farther north, volunteers, local animal control, and a national rescue group managed to save about a half-dozen dogs from a shelter on the south shore of Lake Okeechobee in Hendry County last Saturday.

According to News Press, two Clewiston Animal Control volunteers and police transported Clay, Diesel, Stanley, and a number of other stray dogs and cats to Immokalee Regional Airport in Collier County so that a Pilots N Paws pilot could pick them up.

Volunteer with Clewiston Animal Control Kathy Irey stated that if the 17 animals couldn’t find a good home, they would likely be put down.

Along with two adult cats, two kittens, and a litter of five newborns, Kathy, Laura Smith, and Melissa Blount, an animal control officer from Clewiston, needed to assist the puppies, most of which were pit bulls.

The pilot did not carry any cages to transfer the animals, and they had to travel to considerable lengths to find some because of the quick evacuation warning as well as a logistical and communication issue.

Even when it was mended, only five of the 17 animals could ultimately board the aircraft. According to Kathy, the other animals were given to other shelters with the assurance that they wouldn’t be put to death.

The pups who boarded the aircraft were on their way to Nashville, Tennessee’s Big Fluffy Dog Rescue.

With seven years of experience with Pilots N Paws, pilot Jeff Wall of Jackson, Mississippi, says he loves being able to rescue animals.