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Bahamas woman rescues 97 dogs from Hurricane Dorian

'97 dogs are inside my house and 79 of them are inside my master bedroom'

Photo courtesy of Chella Phillips via Facebook

A woman living in the Bahamas couldn't bear the thought of all the homeless dogs caught in the path of Hurricane Dorian with nowhere to go. So, she welcomed them inside. 

All 97 of them.

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The selfless deed isn't out of character for Chella Phillips, who runs The Voiceless Dogs of Nassau, Bahamas, a nonprofit group that looks after abandoned dogs and those that live on the streets.

Still, even Phillips likely never guessed she would be herding nearly 100 dogs into her home at the height of a hurricane that devastated parts of the Bahamas. Yet that's exactly what she did.

"We may not get hit as hard as other islands and the saddest part is that after the hurricane leave the Bahamas, some islands will take a long time to recover," she wrote on Facebook. "Each island has abundance of homeless dogs, my heart is so broken for the ones without a place to hide a CAT 5 monster and only God can protect them now."

97 dogs are inside my house and 79 of them are inside my master bedroom. It has been insane since lastnight, poop and...

Posted by Chella Phillips on Sunday, September 1, 2019

Phillips said 79 of the dogs she rescued were camped out in her master bedroom, though fortunately none of them laid claim to her bed. Incidentally, the big rescue came four years to the day after the launch of Pawtcake Refuge, which has helped care for over 1,000 dogs since it was founded.

"For all the ones asking.. yes.. everyone here gets along and welcome the newcomers with tail wags cause they know they are their brothers and sisters in suffering on the streets," Phillips said. "They are not like the selfish humans that mistreated and abused them or simply passed them by and let them to die on the streets."

Unfortunately, Phillips said, the refuge flooded overnight. At this point, she and her brother would welcome any help they can get. To learn more or donate, visit Phillips' fundraising page