14 DAY TRIAL // Although no official figures have yet been made available to the general public, there are many who claim that, in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, hundreds of pets are now struggling to survive after being parted from their owners by this Frankenstorm.
As was to be expected, rescue missions intended to bring these animals to safety fired up, and firefighters, together with several volunteers, are presently busy trying to locate and lend a helping hand to these stranded and most likely frightened animals.
For the time being, the only good news is that, after hurricane Katrina ended up leaving roughly 250,000 pets confused and struggling for survival, the US witnessed an increase in the overall number of animal shelters ready and willing to look after animals during such difficult times. Sources say that, thanks to the pet-shelters that were up and running during the storm in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, it is quite likely that firefighters will have to rescue significantly less pets than they did when hurricane Katrina hit this country.
“Up until actual storm conditions started, we had heard of literally hundreds of animal-friendly shelters opening. Pets were either being welcomed at human shelters, or other resources were being provided if human shelter's didn't welcome pets,” explained Niki Dawson from the Humane Society of the United States.
Besides bringing stranded pets to safety, authorities must also focus on rescuing whatever zoo animals have also been affected by this storm.
Thus, one petting zoo in New Jersey supposedly got flooded during this storm, and efforts must now be made to check on how the wild animals are doing.
As we have previously reported, the New York aquarium on Coney Island also has suffered severe flooding, but a proper estimate of the damages caused by this storm will only be carried out once the waters recede.