Community takes in over 40 pups from Jasper County shelter due to Tropical Storm Debby

Forty pups from the Jasper Animal Rescue Mission slept in warm, dry beds Tuesday night, thanks to community members who hosted them during the second night of heavy rain in the Lowcountry. Some of the pets even found permanent homes “as a result of Mother Nature,” the rescue mission wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.

Angie Castrillón, an Old Town resident and longtime dog-lover, drove 40 minutes through the storm to the shelter Tuesday evening to pick up Braylon, a 50-pound lab mix.

Braylon has been living at the shelter since April and, despite being so young, she already shows some signs of stress. Castrillón said she plans on keeping the foster through Saturday, but hopes to keep Braylon until she has been adopted. The pup has been able to decompress and socialize with her other two rescue dogs, Castrillón said.

Typically, some of the dogs are housed in large outdoor kennels in front of the facility. So, as a precaution, the dogs needed fostering during Tropical Storm Debby, because it was unclear how much rain would end up collecting on the low-lying property.

When Castrillón arrived at the shelter Tuesday, she said she saw shelter volunteers “running around grabbing food, leashes, collars, and bowls,” trying to get the five remaining dogs partnered with their hosts. There was quite a bit of puddling around the shelter and an urgency to get the dogs out, she recalled.

The dogs went to homes in Beaufort, Bluffton, Callawassie Island, Sun City and Palmetto Bluff.

Castrillón, who has volunteered at several rescues throughout her life, said, “you can tell how much the volunteers care about the animals.”