Evacuated pets to arrive at Young-Williams Animal Center in wake of Hurricane Irma
On Monday, Sept. 11, at 5 p.m., Young-Williams Animal Center will welcome 20 dogs and 12 cats from South Carolina animal shelters impacted by Hurricane Irma. More than 200 animals have already arrived in Knoxville from both South Carolina and Florida. Not all animals will be taken in by Young-Williams Animal Center, as we are working with other local agencies and organizations to place animals with foster families.
Upon arrival, Young-Williams Animal Center will evaluate the animals before moving them to local emergency foster homes.
“Our focus at Young-Williams Animal Center is finding a home for every pet, and the foster program allows us to help as many animals as possible,” says Janet Testerman, CEO of Young-Williams Animal Center. “We are always in need of new foster homes but especially during times like these, it’s even more critical to have safe places for these animals to stay outside the shelter during such a stressful time. The more participants we have, the more pets we can save. As members of our national animal welfare community, it is our responsibility to help our neighbors in need.”
Those interested in becoming an emergency foster can email [email protected]. All potential fosters will be vetted through the standard application process; however, an application does not mean you will definitely be called on to foster at this time as it is still undetermined how many and when additional animals will be arriving to our area In addition, Young-Williams Animal Center is in critical need of supplies for the evacuated animals. Monetary donations of all sizes contribute to the mission of the organization, and supply donations also are needed. A list of needed supplies is below:
Cat litter
Litter boxes
Litter scoopers
Canned cat food
Dry Science Diet cat and kitten food
Gallon Ziploc bags
All donations can be dropped off at Young-Williams Animal Center, 3201 Division St., Knoxville, TN 37919.
addition info: To help prepare for Hurricane Irma’s landfall in the southeastern United States, the ASPCA coordinated multiple requests to transport hundreds of unowned shelter animals throughout Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to safer grounds to ride out the storm. As part of these efforts, the ASPCA established a 40,000 square-foot emergency shelter in Duncan, S.C. to care for unowned shelter animals from at-risk areas in the path of the hurricane. The emergency shelter is serving as a safe place for displaced animals as shelters and rescue groups make space for lost pets following the storm.
The ASPCA’s emergency shelter currently has nearly 300 unowned shelter animals, and that number is expected to grow as they receive additional requests to assist in evacuating animals from areas impacted by Hurricane Irma. Today, 32 unowned shelter cats and dogs from the emergency facility were relocated to Young-Williams Animal Center to be placed in foster homes before being made available for adoption. The ASPCA will continue to working with partner shelters throughout the country to place the remaining animals.