Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Homeless animals seek shelter
As crate after crate came off the twinturbo prop airplane Saturday evening at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, some dogs pressed their faces against their cages with big smiles and tails feverishly wagging. Others appeared scared and cowered.
Amid the barks was also a group of cats, quietly waiting.
The three-hour flight for about 160 dogs and 45 cats from Puerto Rico is part of “Operation Breathing Room,” a program run by the Humane Society of the U.S. that helps free up space in overcrowded shelters in Puerto Rico.
“Puerto Rico has more homeless pets than it does people,” said Kim Alboum, director of shelter outreach and policy engagement for the Humane Society.
Alboum said the operation also focuses on educating the people about sustainable pet programs, including neutering.
“Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. and it’s an island with an overabundance of animals,” she said. “People can’t really argue that we’re bringing animals into the U.S. when they already are a part of the U.S. We need to help them. We owe them that.”
The island has more than 300,000 street dogs, and shelters with a 92 percent kill rate, the highest of any state or territory in the U.S., according to the Humane Society.
“It’s very disheartening to hear people talk about the Puerto Rico shelters as if this is what they want to do,” she said. “The shelter people in Puerto Rico, they’re trying so hard. They’re putting everything they got into getting these animals out the door, whether it’s transport, local adoption. There’s just so many animals and so few people.”
The flight to Florida is just one of about 140 by Wings for Life, a a California-based nonprofit that works with the Humane Society to transport the animals. Ric Browde, chairman of the organization, rented the plane.
“The average length of stay for a pet transported by my organization and the receiving rescue is about three and a half days. They’re going to probably be on somebody’s couch, certainly by Easter,” he said. “It’s kind of one of those happily ever after stories.”
Among the army of volunteers was a group from Pittsburgh that drove about 25 hours to get to South Florida. Along with about 20 people, the group brought truck and trailer to help transport the animals up the East Coast, dropping some off at shelters along the way.
“This is just a huge relief for the people of Puerto Rico, to be able to re-tool and reinvent themselves and to just have a little bit of breathing space. These dogs will definitely have good homes,” said Lynda Manko, director of operations for Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue team.
They’ll be taking about 100 of the cats and dogs with them.
About 21 dogs and 15 cats will be staying with the Humane Society of Broward County.
“We always like being involved in transports and taking animals when we can from other places. So it was important for us to be involved,” said Mary Steffen, senior vice president of operations at the Humane Society of Broward County.