MONKTON — Hurricane Florence is getting a lot of deserved publicity for battering humans, homes and businesses along the East Coast, and in particular the Carolinas. But many of the storm’s smallest victims are suffering in anonymity — they are the pets that have been abandoned or were caught by surprise in the 80 mph winds and flooding.
Champlain Valley Canine Rescue (CVCR) here in Vermont is organizing aid for dogs now fending for themselves in states currently recovering from Florence. And it should be noted that landing in a shelter in some of those states — particularly South Carolina — is akin to a death sentence, as shelters kill animals if they haven’t been claimed or adopted after a certain period of time.
Monkton resident Valerie Mullin, a member of CVCR, is putting out an urgent call for donations of dog food/care supplies. And she’s also looking for volunteers to foster or adopt four-legged refugees of Florence who might otherwise be killed in shelters.
Right now, Mullin is looking to place three dogs — a mama and her two pups — who are friendly, crate-trained and were pulled minutes before their scheduled demise. She said the dogs can be kept together or split up. The two pups (a male and female) are around six months old, and the mom is around three years old, according to Mullin.
“They are currently with other dogs and cats in a South Carolina foster home and all get along great,” Mullin said through an email. “They are also all heartworm negative, current on heartworm/flea and tick medicine, altered, and fully vaccinated. All are super friendly and so happy all the time. They will be arriving on Saturday and need a place to stay.”
Meanwhile, CVCR is partnering with some local businesses to collect dog food and supplies to take down South.
Most needed are wet (canned) and dry dog/cat food, new and used dog crates and plastic carriers, kongs, peanut butter (smooth, no xylitol), pet collars, leashes, fleece/baby blankets, towels of all sizes and flat sheets. Also needed are gift cards to Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Petco, PetSmart and Amazon.
Donors can bring the above items to the Monkton General Store and Martin’s Hardware in either Bristol or Middlebury, on either Thursday, Sept. 20, or Thursday, Oct. 4. CVCR will also gratefully accept financial donations, made out to CVCR, 91 Dart Hill Road, Monkton, 05473, or Paypal at [email protected].
For more information, contact Mullin at 425-3768, or at [email protected]. Also, check out Champlain Valley Canine Rescue on Facebook.