For the past few months, a man named Mike Merrill has been busy rescuing dogs, cats, and other animals from conflict zones in Ukraine by partnering and coordinating with different rescue workers from countries like France, Austria, and Portugal. And now, he is delivering that same passion in doing rescue missions in his home state before Hurricane Ian came down and flooded and destroyed everything it passed through.
Before Hurricane Ian barreled down on Florida, Mike and the rest of his animal rescue organization known as Florida Urgent Care (FUR) were already rescuing dogs and cats near Jacksonville. But unlike the previous months of rescuing in Ukraine, this one was uniquely difficult. That is, according to Mike, the rescuers themselves were also personally affected as they were also in the path of the storm.
But Mike knew how important his and the organization’s role were in making sure that the dozens of dogs in outdoor kennels would be safe as the ferocious storm hits. Aside from that, their help in relocating at-risk animals from almost-full shelters gives the dogs and cats a second chance to create a new chapter in their lives. Because if they stay and survive, they were more likely to face euthanization, especially after a natural disaster.
Mike has been doing these rescue missions for quite some time, starting after Hurricane Harvey devastated Louisiana and Texas a few years back. And so, from experience, he learned the complexity of each rescue, from the advanced planning to establishing a solid network of shelters and foster homes that are available and ready to help when disaster strikes. And this became very handy in the following rescue efforts that he participated in.
As of now, Mike has been in nine hurricane rescue efforts and he plans to be part of more. Any kind of storm is terrifying to dogs even the ones much less than a hurricane so it’s very important to always act ahead and be ready to take on whatever situation they are faced with.
Source: Cincinnati.com