Volunteers At Various Animal Shelters Save Dogs After Hurricane Harvey Disaster

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Ruger, a Hurricane Harvey survivor, sits in the sun after playing ball with his sister. After his long journey to St. Louis, he now has a permanent loving home.

On Aug. 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck Texas and caused thousands of people to evacuate. The hurricane destroyed towns and cities and nothing was completely safe. This includes the many animals that were left and forgotten.

Luckily, shelters like Best Friends Animal Society went around and rescued these animals. Unfortunately, there were way more than the shelter could handle. Best Friends Animal Society is a no-kill shelter, so any animals brought to them were with them until they are adopted. Because of an abundance of pets, they were in desperate need of supplies.

Needy Paws Rescue is a local non-profit, no-kill rescue that takes in dogs and finds them a forever home. They do not have a shelter, so all of their dogs are fostered.

When Lora Pappas, the founder of Needy Paws Rescue, heard about the Best Friends Animal Society being in need of help, she gathered up volunteers and they rushed over.

“I’m committed, now, to saving as many dogs as I can,” said Pappas.

Their original intent was to just drop off loads of supplies and leave. When they got there, their plans changed.

“You got three or four hundred dogs in one big [shelter] and they are all barking their heads off,” said Barbara Pfleeger, a volunteer for Needy Paws Rescue. The Needy Paws Rescue volunteers ended up taking 17 dogs back with them, eight of them being only a little older than newborns.

The puppies unfortunately did not have the best luck fighting against the effects of the hurricane. They became exposed to catarrh, coughing, and distemper, a viral disease that causes fevers. Three puppies have died due to this so far. The rest are being carefully watched and taken care of.

But nature balances itself with this time and there is a success story, too. Pfleeger, who works for the shelter adopted one of the dogs.

“I volunteered to foster [Ruger, a rescue dog] when they brought the 17 dogs back from Texas [because] they were kind of short on fosters. I had never fostered before.” Pfleeger now calls herself a “failed foster” because once she fostered that one dog for only five days, she decided to keep him.

After the hurricane, Ruger was sent to Best Friends Animal Society no-kill shelter by a volunteer who was unable to take care of him. From there, Ruger became one of the 17 chosen by the Needy Paws Rescue. Ruger now has a forever home with Pfleeger and her other dog, Harley.

“He has just started wagging his tail. He did not wag his tail. His big tail was just limp down between his back legs and he has just started wagging it. That’s really the rewarding part,” said Pfleeger.

Parkway North has their very own Needy Paws Rescue helper, junior Brice Henson. Henson fosters dogs for the rescue whenever they need a foster home, since Needy Paws Rescue does not have a shelter.

“[My family and I] care about dogs. We can just kind of get that extra dog love that we want and find dogs nice homes,” said Henson. Henson is ready at all times to be able to foster these new hurricane survivors.

To see about adopting any puppies or dogs or to donate visit Needy Paws Rescue – St. Louis, MO online or on their Facebook account @Needy Paws Rescue – St. Louis, MO.

By Cassie Schoene, staff writer