Tropical Storm Fay Rescue

Fay was just a Tropical Storm. She would hit land in southwest Florida and then make her way diagonally across the state and exit somewhere in east central Florida. No real threat, no real big deal, in fact, she would do us a favor. After all, we needed the rain!

Tell that to the Melbourne residents who watched Tropical Storm Fay make her methodical march across the state and then decided to meander in the Melbourne area for a few days. As she sat stationary, Fay dumped inches and inches of rain on the area. Soon canals overflowed, lake waters began to creep into homes and the streets became nearly impassable. Those who did not evacuate on their own, now had to be rescued.
 
Even in areas unscathed by the rampaging waters, flooding was a major concern. That was the case at the South Animal Care Center (SACC) in Melbourne. The county operated facility did not have to evacuate but soon after the Tropical Storm arrived they were flooded in a different manner....by cats and dogs. Animals were housed in offices and stacked in hallways. As the water rose outside so did the animal count inside. Space became a very valuable commodity.
 
As often happens in cases such as this, with space at a premium, the new arrivals take precedence over the animals that have been at the shelter for awhile. Difficult decisions must be made. Fortunately, the staff at SACC reached out for help before more drastic measures had to be taken.

A few days after the flooding had subsided, two vans from Suncoast Animal League arrived at the SACC shelter. There were animals in every room, in every hall, in every conceivable space. Animals were literally everywhere. Yet despite this extreme overcrowding, the animals were very well taken care of. We experienced an immediate bond with the dedicated staff as we slowly began to transfer animals from their shelter to our vans.

All in all, 38 cats were transferred, 9 dogs, 6 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs, 1 very large Iguana and a little chicken. Once loaded, pictures were taken, tears were shed and hugs were given. We were soon Palm Harbor bound.
 
Two and a half hours later we arrived back at Suncoast Animal League and were greeted by volunteers and foster parents. Over the next few days, all of the Tropical Storm Fay victims were placed in foster homes. Those that were old enough soon found themselves, spayed or neutered and then adopted. The younger ones had to wait several more weeks, as did a few with more severe medical problems. At this time, all have been adopted into forever homes.
 
Once again, we were able to make something good out of something very bad. We met some new friends on the east coast and we depended on old friends when we got back to the west coast. And in between, we saved 57 precious, little lives. Not a bad day's work.

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