Dog lovers across three states work together to save pups after Texas floods
Concho Valley PAWS in San Angelo, Texas, received an influx of strays and animals separated from their owners when flash floods devastated parts of the Lone Star State.
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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Organizations in Arizona and Utah saved over a dozen dogs from Central Texas, where a local shelter was overwhelmed by pups displaced by the deadly Fourth of July floods.
Concho Valley PAWS in San Angelo, Texas, received an influx of strays and animals separated from their owners when flash floods devastated parts of the Lone Star State.
To make room for the new animals, the shelter worked with the Best Friends Animal Society in Utah to find a new home for pups that were current residents at Concho Valley PAWS.
Pups transported from Concho Valley PAWS in San Angelo, Texas, to the Coconino Humane Association in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Coconino Humane Association / FOX Weather)
If the pups were not moved out, they would have faced a dark future to make room for the newly displaced animals entering the shelter.
"With all of us in animal welfare across the country, we know that euthanasia is not the answer," said Charlotte Peterson, operations and medical director of the Coconino Humane Association in Flagstaff, Arizona.
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Peterson and her team at the Coconino Humane Association answered the call from Best Friends and Concho Valley PAWS and volunteered to take in 13 dogs from the San Angelo shelter.
One of the pups transported from Concho Valley PAWS in San Angelo, Texas, to the Coconino Humane Association in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Coconino Humane Association / FOX Weather)
A Coconino team drove six hours from Flagstaff to meet a team with Concho Valley PAWS in New Mexico, where the Texas dogs would be handed over to their new friends with Coconino.
The dogs are all adults of a variety of breeds. One is a German Shepherd, a few are heelers, and others are pittie mixes.
Before the dogs can be adopted, Peterson said her team's priority is making sure the pups receive medical care, such as being spayed or neutered. Also, special treatments are required for some of the dogs, including one named "Tre-Tre" who has part of a cactus stuck on her face.
Pups transported from Concho Valley PAWS in San Angelo, Texas, to the Coconino Humane Association in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Coconino Humane Association / FOX Weather)
Despite these hurdles, Tre-Tre and the other pups have a new, and perhaps grand, lease on life in the Grand Canyon State.
"So many of us that have been in the field for a long time understand that it's vital – it's absolutely vital, even if it's cross-country – to take in these animals and help alleviate some of that pressure that they are going through," Peterson said.
To support the pups, you can send a donation to Coconino Humane Association via the QR code below.
Scan this QR code to donate to the Coconino Humane Association. (Coconino Humane Association / FOX Weather)