NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – Some old, some young, but each with a story.
The Nassau Humane Society has taken in more than a dozen dogs rescued from Puerto Rico.
“We actually took in 20 dogs from a very sad, deplorable shelter in Puerto Rico. They actually reached out for help,” Nassau Humane executive director Debbie Chissell said. “They had 800 dogs living in such deplorable squalor. These animals were in small travel crates. They were living in feces and urine. The shelter was trying to help, but they just lacked the resources.”
Chissell said Puerto Rico has a high rate of stray dogs and cats.
“Spay and neuter is not common over there,” she explained. “The shelters become full very quickly.”
Chissell said there will be more rescue missions to come.
“They will be doing another transport in months to come. They managed to get at least 300 dogs out on this transport,” she said. “Nassau Humane Society and Big Dog Ranch Rescue were the only groups in Florida, but many of the dogs were flown to New Jersey and New York.”
One pup was picked out while the News4Jax cameras were at the shelter. The Pazand family plans to name her Luna.
“We actually recently had to put down our family pet and we realized how empty it is inside of our house,” said Shannon and Alisha Pazand.
Dr. Mandy Kulbel, the vet for Nassau Humane, is assessing each of the dogs to determine when they’ll be ready for adoption.
Nassau Humane anticipates all the dogs deemed healthy will be available to go home with families by Tuesday.
Philippe is the cutest! He’s up for adoption at @NassauHumane. He along with 20 other pups were of 300 dogs rescued from a crumbling Puerto Rico shelter that has more than 800 dogs. @DanielleUliano wanted me to find her a pup. I picked Philippe. She said ‘no’, so can you? @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/SWwo6gJEOx
— Zachery Lashway (@ZachLashway) October 10, 2020
To help the Humane Society cover medical expenses for the new animals, go to https://nassauhumane.org/donate/.
