More than a hundred homeless dogs and cats who were victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston are now living on the South and Central Coasts.
Santa Maria Valley Humane Society Executive Director Sean Hawkins – who lived in Houston for more than three decades – led the effort to relocate the animals to his and four other shelters in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
"When the storm hit and they were inundated with thousands of animals who were being evacuated because of the storm, they have no capacity to care for these pets. So, its incumbent on others and animal sheltering to step up and say 'Yes, we can help,'" he said.
The 135 animals that arrived this past week and 65 more that are expected in coming weeks were either already in the Houston shelter system before the hurricane or their owners brought them into the shelter.
The four other local shelters that are taking in the animals are the Santa Barbara Humane Society, Santa Barbara County Animal Services, Animal Shelter Assistance Program in Santa Barbara and Woods Humane Society in San Luis Obispo.