Gwinnett Sheltering Animals Fleeing Hurricane Irma

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — Animal-welfare authorities in Gwinnett County are playing host to dozens of animals displaced from coastal Georgia in advance of Hurricane Irma.

The Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Division has accepted roughly 60 dogs and cats from a shelter in Glynn County, which sits on the coast in far south Georgia. To handle the extra animals, Gwinnett County is using a secure, temporary shelter in Lawrenceville, officials said.

As of Friday afternoon, officials in Gwinnett had accepted 19 cats and 42 dogs.

The animals were in the process of being checked and processed Friday, but some likely will be available for adoption as early as Monday, officials said. The division is reaching out to local animal rescue groups in hopes they can take some of the displaced animals. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The Glynn County animals will be put up for adoption at the current shelter, at 884 Winder Hwy. in Lawrenceville, as space becomes available.

The shelter in Glynn County moved its canine and feline inhabitants as part of the mandatory evacuation ordered by Gov. Nathan Deal. Brunswick is the county seat of Glynn County. Gwinnett was approached by Glynn County Animal Control officials on Wednesday, and after coordination through the Department of Agriculture, arrangements were made for Gwinnett County to accept the new arrivals on Thursday.

The Gwinnett County Animal Control and Enforcement shelter on Sept. 1 accepted 11 cats from a shelter in Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. All but two have been adopted.

Anyone interested may visit Gwinnett's available pets page to search for adoptable animals.

Like the Lawrenceville Patch on Facebook to get more stories like this in your News Feed.

Watch: Top 5 Most Devastating Hurricanes To Hit The U.S.

Photo via Gwinnett Animal Shelter Facebook page.