The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Humane Society currently has about 90 dogs that are Hurricane Dorian victims and the shelter is calling on affected pet owners to identify their animals.

The BHS airlifted more than 200 dogs out of its shelter in New Providence to facilities in the United States to make space for animals displaced by Hurricane Dorian.

In an interview with The Tribune, BHS President Kim Aranha said the facility will keep the pets the owners want back after they are settled and the pets the owners no longer want.

She said: "We will feed them, and we will take care of them medically, but we need to know that's your dog. Once we know that's your dog, we have a special part of the shelter with the other owned dogs who are boarding but there will be no fee for it.

"Owners will still be able to have their animals and we'll take care of them until they either go back home or find somewhere here they can live here where they can keep a dog.

"I really need the public to be aware that the service is being provided between BAARK and the Bahamas Humane Society. We have an awful lot of animals who have yet to be claimed that we would really like owners to come forward. Owners need to understand that just because they come forward doesn't mean they have to take their pets."

She added: "We will still take care of them and so the dogs that are being fostered right now, the foster family will keep them until the owner is ready. The foster families will like to know 'hey that's my dog and thank you for keeping it, we would like to visit it and once we're sorted out, I'll be back.'"

Mrs Aranha said the move to airlift animals that were living in the shelter before the storm to the United States to make space for storm affected dogs has been a joint effort between BAARK and the Humane Society.

"Our man Valentino Armaly was on the ground with his ambulance and he went and picked up the dogs," she said. "And the BAARK flight would bring them in. The animals are between the Humane Society and BAARK.

"We have about 90 dogs right now that are Dorian dogs, we only have about five cats and we had five rabbits. Two have gone back to their owners and believe it or not two pet turtles. Many of these animals are in foster but obviously if the owners come forward, we (would) encourage them to take their pets back. "

She added: "BAARK has been doing a lot of reuniting as well. They have a lot of their dogs in foster care, but the fosters are totally aware that if and when the owners turn up the animals will return to them.

"Now there is a problem with all of this, obviously as more and more animals find their owners there is a limited amount of time that they can just be kept in the Bahamas before they need to go away to find homes because it's just very expensive."

Mrs Aranha said if a large number of dogs are surrendered and no one wants to adopt, they'll be airlifted to shelters in the US.