On September 18, Hurricane Fiona struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast as it unleashed landslides, knocked the power grid out and ripped up asphalt from roads and flung the pieces around. Hundreds of people were evacuated or rescued across the island as floodwaters rose swiftly. Rushing rivers of brown water enveloped cars, first floors and even an airport runway in the island’s southern region.
Parts of the island received 30 inches of rain in the hurricane, which caused a total island blackout, massive flooding and landslides. Over a week after the hurricane made landfall, most of Puerto Rico is still without power or water.
The growing humanitarian crisis doesn’t just affects humans – it affects thousands of animals now left homeless by the storm.
As NBC’s The TODAY Show reports, at the Santuario de Animales San Francisco de Asís in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, a small band of determined humans is trying to save as many animal lives as possible. Over the din of generators, barking dogs and a constant chorus of local coquis (frogs), they’re cleaning up and caring for animals.
“This is the second time the river has come to the first floor,” Martínez said in an interview with TODAY from her sanctuary, where the stale smells of dust and stagnant water fill the air. “The first time was Hurricane Maria, and this time the flooding was much, much worse.”
Just hours before the hurricane hit, the staff fed all the dogs and cats and gave them their medications, Martínez said. They found temporary foster homes for 30 animals, moved the rest to the second floor of the sanctuary and, out of desperation, brought some home with them.
All of the animals at the shelter survived the hurricane, and have survived the week since, as volunteers and staff struggle to care for them without electricity or running water. Now, they’re bracing for a second crisis, preparing for the wave of stray animals that follow a hurricane.
“We learned during Hurricane Maria that there’s going to be a huge amount of pets on the streets, because people are losing their homes and they’re probably going to lose work,” Martínez explained. “We need to make space, even if we lose the first floor entirely, because there are going to be pets that need us.”
After Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017, abandoned animals overwhelmed Puerto Rico’s shelters, which were already struggling to handle hundreds of thousands of stray animals on the streets, according to the Associated Press. In 2008, a new law in Puerto Rico banned animal cruelty and animal abandonment, but repeated natural disasters have made it hard for even well-meaning people to take care of their pets.
The sanctuary has already welcomed animals left behind due to Fiona — a litter of 5-week old puppies that were abandoned on the street. Their little bellies bloated, the puppies were malnourished, severely dehydrated and riddled with parasites.
A group of about 20 veterinarians and students are helping the sanctuary staff clear debris, throw away damaged property, assess the medical needs of the animals and provide treatments. The group also prepared a group of animals — including the rescued puppies — for transport to the mainland U.S., giving them the required vaccines and paperwork so they could board a Florida-bound plane last Saturday.
“I felt very overwhelmed by the situation,” Isabel Medina, a 17-year-old veterinary student and volunteer, told TODAY. “Seeing all of these helpless animals looking for an actual owner — it was devastating.” Medina still does not have electricity or running water at home in Moca, Puerto Rico, where she lives with her father and 3-year-old sister. Still, she says it was important for her to show up at the sanctuary and give what she could. “Animals have necessities, just like humans,” she said. “It’s hard to live under these circumstances and for them to be normalized … To have them run around and be helpless during these types of situations is heartbreaking.”
According to TODAY, more than a foot of water still blocks the road to the no-kill sanctuary, and volunteers and staff have to navigate teetering power lines and broken trees to get there. The first time staff got back to the shelter after the hurricane was about 48 hours since they’d last seen the animals. The National Guard drove them (with some coaxing) through floodwaters that threatened to swamp their truck.
“We were so happy and relieved when we saw all of them alive,” Martínez added. “We called it a storm menu — we gave them canned food and sausage and all the animals were so happy. We have Ray, a heavy weight dog, and he was so happy with the menu.”
Martínez says she has not slept since the hurricane hit. Still, she is determined to carry on and restore the sanctuary, which was first founded by her mother. The shelter now lives in an old rum distillery, where it has survived three hurricanes, multiple earthquakes and countless storms. “I don’t have human babies,” said Martínez, who also cares for two paralyzed kittens who were kicked so hard by someone, their spinal cords were severed. “But I do have many fur babies.”
Despite the utter devastation the sanctuary and the whole island has endured, Vega says he is grateful. “Having people come in and help us out fills me with joy,” he said. “This is nothing. I know that if we can come back from Maria, we can come back from this.”
- According to the Humane Society of Puerto Rico, an estimated half a million stray dogs and 1 million stray cats roam the streets of the island.
- After Hurricane Maria nearly 200,000 Puerto Ricans fled their homes either temporarily or permanently and unemployment hit a 11-year high, leaving many people unable to care for their pets.
- Santuario de Animales San Francisco de Asís in Hormigueros is accepting donations via PayPal, Amazon Wishlist and at info@sasfapr.org.
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