St. Hubert’s in NJ saves 85+ animals from hurricane

MADISON, N.J. (PIX11) – Just days ago, a 1-and-a-half-year-old husky shepherd mix named Sven escaped Hurricane Francine in Louisiana for a chance at a new life.

Lynn Garcia works at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center and is the director of its WayStation Transport Program, which has relocated more than 20,000 shelter animals across the country.

“We had to wait for the storm to hit to see how many we could relocate after the fact,” said Garcia.

Francine made landfall in Louisiana on Sept. 11, knocking out power to 400,000 homes. Shelters struggled to keep their animals safe.

“We had some partners that had staff members that stayed in the shelter while the storm hit to make sure that the pets were safe,” said Garcia. “We had one partner that had a tree fall on their dog kennels, and one partner that their surgery center was completely underwater.”

This weekend, with the help of Greater Good Charities, more than 85 pets were flown out of New Orleans to Pennsylvania, giving shelters much-needed relief.

“It created the space for newly lost or displaced pets to be taken care of until they can be reunited with their families,” said Garcia.

Around 50 of the animals came with Garcia to St. Hubert’s. “It’s an amazing feeling,” said Garcia. “These pets rely on us for everything, so being able to reach out in this time of need to give to give them the space and the time that they need to deal with the aftermath means everything to us and those pets.”

Many of the animals from Louisiana are available to adopt right now. If you can’t adopt, you can consider fostering or donating.

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