When Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast region in late August the fate of many companion animals was up in the air, but thanks to the combined effort of the Lucy Pet Foundation, various rescue organizations and a World Series-winning athlete, 30 dogs and 34 cats left homeless after the natural disaster recently found themselves on cloud nine as they boarded an airlift that flew them to their new lives in California.
Lucy Pet Foundation Returns to Texas to Help Homeless Animals
On a mission of mercy since the category four hurricane struck this past summer, Joey Herrick– the founder of Lucy Pet Products and The Lucy Pet Foundation– and Lucy Pet Foundation’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Karen “Doc” Halligan have made several trips to affected areas. During an early September stay in Brazoria County the Foundation assisted in the day-to-day treatment of the influx of animals which inundated Brazoria County SPCA, many of whom were in need of medical care due to injuries and illness caused by the violent storm.
Later that same month a plane chartered by the Lucy Pet Foundation flew 70 adoptables from Houston shelters, with the dogs and cats helped on board by volunteers from various animal rescue organizations and by a Texas-born celebrity who used her star wattage to shine a light on the plight of pets in her home state– Academy Award-winning actress Renee Zellweger.
A World Series Champion Goes to Bat for Homeless Houston Animals
Stepping up to the plate to help fund the effort to transport 64 dogs and cats who had been housed in an abandoned grocery store since the deluge, Lance McCullers Jr. of the World Series-winning Houston Astros made a donation for the $28,000 flight through The Lance McCullers Jr. Foundation, a non-profit which teams up with area shelters and rescue organizations to help make Houston a no-kill city.
The pitcher, who was on the tarmac to see the companion animals embark on their adventure, is also helping to raise funds for a $300,000 state-of-the-art Lucy Pets Foundation mobile spay/neuter clinic in the Houston area. In 2016 alone The Lucy Pet Foundation provided spay/neuter services for more than 4,000 dogs and cats in the L.A. area with one mobile clinic. Thanks in part to sales of USA-made, cruelty-free Lucy Pet Products (which can be purchased online and at specialty stores across the nation), the non-profit organization is working toward a goal of placing a mobile spay/neuter and adoption clinic in every major US city.
Among the rescue organizations which helped to turn the transport from reverie into a reality were The Rescue Train (an all-volunteer group which took in eight adoptables), Stand Up for Pits Foundation (a non-profit established by comic actress Rebecca Corry), Austin Pets Alive, Houston Pets Alive, Peace for Animals, and Michelson Found Animals.
Lucy Pet Foundation has been providing aid to animals affected by Hurricane Harvey not only through hands-on attention to their needs, but also through donations of Lucy Pet Products’ “products with a cause.” For information regarding Lucy Pet Foundation’s future efforts to help dogs and cats made homeless by Hurricane Harvey and how you can help by making a donation to the paws cause, visit www.lucypetfoundation.org/single-donation, and follow Lucy Pet Products, The Lucy Pet Foundation and Karen “Doc” Halligan on Instagram.
Photo Credit: Lucy Pet Products, Karen “Doc” Halligan; Instagram
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