A Southwest Airlines jet completed its final flight before retirement on Tuesday with a special — and fuzzy — delivery to San Diego.

The Southwest flight left Austin shortly before noon with 64 dogs and cats being evacuated from the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The animals were boarded into the aircraft’s main cabin in their carriers, which were buckled into the seats or stowed in the foot space underneath each row.

#HarveyPetsFlight is landed, unloaded and soon on its way to the Center! 💖🙌 pic.twitter.com/7dYUvsv8PD — Helen Woodward (@HWAC) September 5, 2017

The relief flight was done in conjunction with the California-based Helen Woodward Animal Center, whose volunteers helped escort the animals. The center will provide medical evaluations and treatments for the animals, including vaccinations and spaying or neutering, before placing them for up for adoption.

Southwest had previously worked with the group to evacuate pets after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The Dallas-based carrier donated the flight, and Southwest employees volunteered their time.

The airlifted animals were among the hundreds being cared for at an emergency shelter set up by suburban Houston-based rescue organization Operation Pets Alive. The orphaned animals were previously being held in shelters around the Houston area but were displaced by Hurricane Harvey and the ensuing floods.

1 / 6Southwest Airlines teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to transport 64 animals from local Houston shelters to San Diego. (Southwest Airlines) 2 / 6Southwest Airlines teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to transport 64 animals from local Houston shelters to San Diego, making room for pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey. (Southwest Airlines) 3 / 6Southwest Airlines teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to transport 64 animals from local Houston shelters to San Diego, making room for pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey. (Southwest Airlines) 4 / 6Southwest Airlines teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to transport 64 animals from local Houston shelters to San Diego, making room for pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey. (Southwest Airlines) 5 / 6Southwest Airlines teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to transport 64 animals from local Houston shelters to San Diego, making room for pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey. (Southwest Airlines) 6 / 6Southwest Airlines teamed up with the Helen Woodward Animal Center to transport 64 animals from local Houston shelters to San Diego, making room for pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey. (Southwest Airlines)

“There are shelters that have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey, without electricity, without supplies,” Mike Arms, president and CEO of the Helen Woodward Animal Center, said in a statement. “Operation Pets Alive has taken in an overwhelming number of orphan dogs and cats who had inhabited those shelters before the storm and were suddenly facing euthanasia simply because they had no place to go.”

For Southwest, it was a special sendoff for this particular Boeing 737-300's final ride. The aircraft, tail number N623SW, will join a wave of Boeing 737 Classics that are being retired to make way for the latest, more fuel-efficient model, the Boeing 737 Max. The Dallas-based carrier started the year with 87 of the Classics remaining in its fleet and plans to have all of them retired by the end of September.

After dropping off the animals in San Diego, the aircraft was to make its way to Victorville, Calif., where it will be parked at the Southern California Logistics Airport, one of the country’s largest airplane “boneyards.”