NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Pet shelters in Florida are relocating animals that were up for adoption before Hurricane Ian and getting help from rescue workers in Middle Tennessee.
On Monday, Animal Rescue Corps in Gallatin picked up 40 cats in crates at Nashville International Airport. The jet carrying the cats from Naples, Florida, landed around noon.
"I'm always amazed by how in the moment and resilient animals are," said Michael Cunningham, of Animal Rescue Corps.
By clearing Florida shelters, there's space for animals uprooted in the catastrophic storm to stay during the cleanup.
"Those animals who were displaced by the storm — who the house blew down, and the cat ran away — they can stay locally and get reunited with their families," Cunningham explained.
Race for Life Rescue provided the plane for this mission. It's a new plane and it will only transport animals from here on out.
"Our vision is to fly this aircraft as often as two or three times a week. If we can accomplish that, we'll be able to move 7,000 to 10,000 animals a year," said Jim DeFrancesco, the founder of Race for Life Rescue and a pilot.
According to Animal Rescue Corps, in certain cases, flying animals is a lot easier on them than driving.
"When you put animals on that long of a transport, often they get sick because there's just so much stress on them," Cunningham said.
This was the plane's maiden voyage. It will eventually be kept in a hangar in Nashville between trips. It will be used primarily to evacuate dogs and cats living in bad situations, like kill shelters.
After some rest, the Florida cats will be placed in shelters in Tennessee and bordering states. Fortunately, because they were in a shelter setting already, most have the vaccines they need to be up for adoption quickly.
"Our volunteers are going to love and care for these animals while we reach out to our network of placement partners across the country, and we'll allow them to figure out which ones they can take in their care," Cunningham said.
Animal Rescue Corps and Race For Life Rescue said the rescue flight wouldn't have happened without BISSELL Pet Foundation and Humane Society Naples.
