The Bloomington Animal Shelter is extending Hoosier hospitality to 6 dogs and 18 cats that were evacuated from southern Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma. The animals arrived on Saturday, September 9.

The animals welcomed to Bloomington had been removed from their local shelters in south Florida to give Hurricane Irma’s canine and feline victims a safe place to live until they could be reunited with their evacuated families or transferred to Emergency Placement Partners.

More than 160 adoptable dogs and cats from south Florida were transported to Columbus, Ohio where they were placed in the care of The Humane Society of the United States Emergency Placement Partners. The animals who traveled to the Midwest were not displaced or lost due to Hurricane Irma, and will seek forever homes locally.

Bloomington Animal Shelter Officer Jim Pritchard drove to the Columbus airport to pick up and transport the animals to Bloomington. Columbus is the home of The Humane Society of the United States Ohio headquarters. The trip was generously funded by GreaterGood.org and Wings of Rescue, and the trip and temporary placements were organized by The Humane Society of the United States.

The Bloomington Animal Shelter has begun the process of making these evacuated animals available for adoption, and will continue to help in relief efforts as needed.

Members of the public who would like to help evacuated and/or displaced animals can bring in donations of canned dog/cat food, dog/cat toys or monetary donations during business hours. Members of the public can also visit greatergood.org and wingsofrescue.org to learn more about their continued relief work.

The Bloomington Animal Shelter is located at 3410 S. Walnut St. and is open to the public Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday and Friday from noon to 7:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Adoptable animals can also be viewed at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings from 9:00 -11:00 a.m. and on the shelter web site at bloomington.in.gov/animalshelter and Facebook page at facebook.com/COBAnimalShelter.