Pets Rescued From Harvey-Ravaged Texas Shelters Arrive On East End

EAST HAMPTON, NY — It was a journey of love and compassion as members of the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons headed to Texas to help rescue shelter pets and find them new homes.

The Wainscott-based ARF adoption center sent a team before dawn Friday morning; three custom-built transport vehicles headed south to rescue homeless cats and dogs from areas devastated by flooding in Texas, aiming to empty the shelters to make room for pets displaced by the natural disaster.

The rescue dogs and cats arrived around 8 p.m. Tuesday evening at the ARF shelter in Wainscott.

Also See: Some Of The Many Ways You Can Help Harvey Victims

'All of us at ARF feel both proud and fortunate to be able to help these animals and those in Texas who undertook the massive effort to save them. The outpouring of support for our trip by our own community, including all the donations of food, towels, sheets, and supplies, showed us all that we, too, live in an extraordinary, compassionate community," said Scott Howe, executive director, Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons.

ARF has been in communication with rescue organizations that were on the ground in Texas in order to find where it could help immediately, a release said.

One shelter, Austin Pets Alive, had begun to pull animals from the municipal shelter in Corpus Christi to create extra capacity for animals rescued from the towns hit directly by Hurricane Harvey when it made landfall, ARF said.

"As flooding worsened in Houston, Austin Pets Alive began to take animals from the city’s overcrowded shelters to make room for the animals of evacuees. What Austin needed most were partners to transfer these animals to parts of the country where they would at last find homes. ARF has committed to be there by Saturday," the release said.

ARF said they anticipated bringing back between 60 and 70 cats and dogs, depending on the animals' sizes and needs.

Once the animals are medically cleared, they will be available for adoption at the ARF Adoption Center, as well as partner shelters, including the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation and the Kent Animal Shelter.

For more information on ARF and its rescue efforts, click here or follow ARF on Facebook and Instagram.

Patch courtesy photos, video.