MIDDLEBURY — In August, prolonged rainfall in southern parts of Louisiana resulted in catastrophic flooding that submerged thousands of houses and businesses. Homeward Bound, Addison County’s Humane Society, recently openedits doors to cats affected by this natural disaster.
They did so to help open up space in a Louisiana shelter for the influx of stray animals that resulted from the flooding. The 12 felines transferred to the Middlebury shelter range from young kittens to older cats and more are expected in coming weeks.
Executive director Jess Danyow shares, “We were very pleased to be able to step in and help our friends in Louisiana. Natural disasters create a volatile situation for animals and it is important to be part of a network of organizations who can step in and offer help.”
This isn’t the first transfer of out-of-state animals to Middlebury this year. So far in 2016, Homeward Bound has welcomed 191 animals from high volume shelters well beyond Vermont state lines.
Danyow adds, “We are having a notable year at the shelter. We have already served 674 animals, largely because of the number of transfers we have taken in, which is more than we helped in all of 2015. We are in a position to care for the animals in Addison County who need us and extend our reach because we have a state-of-the-art facility, highly skilled staff and dedicated volunteers. We are proud of the work we are doing and the number of animals who are being given a second chance at a happy life in a safe and loving home.”
Two of the Louisiana cats have been adopted and 10 remain. In addition to the cats, Homeward Bound also took in six young dogs from Florida last week. The shelter is open for visitors Tuesday through Saturday from noon-5 p.m.