COLUMBUS COUNTY, (WWAY) — As you can imagine, people are not the only ones affected and displaced by the effects of Matthew.
Many dogs and cats have been negatively impacted by the storm as well. The amount of dogs and cats coming in to the Columbus County Shelter, especially from the flooded areas, has greatly increased over the past 8 hours.
As the shelter was already full, this has been a real issue both as kennel space is a concern as well as straining resources.
Several area rescues, such as Paw’s Place in Brunswick county, have assisted the shelter in saving animals, but animals are now coming in faster than we can get them safely totheir new homes.
Fortunately, the Brother Wolf Rescue from Asheville reached out to the shelter to save dogs and cats from our area through their rapid response Hurricane Team. They will be saving over 25 dogs and a similar number of cats over the next few days.
As getting into Columbus County is a bit of a challenge at the moment, the Pilot N Paws Pet Rescue team will be flying out of the Columbus County Airport tomorrow (10/14) at 10:30 with the first of the animals. These pilots donate their time, fuel and the use of their planes to rescue animals.
Flights will continue through the the weekend, and shelter staff will be working all weekend to get the animals to the local airport.
The Columbus Humane Society is assisting the shelter is obtaining all of the necessary travel paperwork for these animals.
Many people have called and asked how they can help. Those wishing to support these efforts may donate to the two organizations at their websites and those wishing to donate supplies to the shelter may take them to 288 Legion Drive in Whiteville.