Best Friends Animal Society's Emergency Response Fund, Ground Team, Volunteers to Ease Sandy Suffering

Media Contact
Eric Rayvid : 917-861-8290 or ericr@bestfriends.org

National animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society® is making funds available to help defray the extraordinary costs incurred by the companion animal rescue groups and other organizations saving and caring for pets impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Best Friends, based in Kanab, Utah, is a no-kill leader that partners with municipalities and organizations to save lives in the nation's animal shelters and also operates the nation's largest no-kill animal sanctuary.

Supported by generous donations from the public and corporate partners, Best Friends' relief efforts will target animals and shelters impacted by Hurricane Sandy across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Funds also will support the transport of displaced shelter pets to Best Friends No More Homeless Pets® Network Partners located outside of storm-affected areas, expected to begin in the next several days. Limited fuel supplies, road closures and driving restrictions in some affected areas are complicating factors.

The first such transport will be of animals from Animal Care and Control of New York City to Network Partners in New England and is expected to take place in the next several days. Animals will be moved in a Best Friends Emergency Response vehicle deployed for such purposes.

Shelters are eligible for micro grants to assist in repair and recovery from the storm, as are rescue organizations that have taken in animals from shelters impacted by the storm. Priority consideration will be given to shelters working with their community to achieve no-kill status. Details on how to apply for a grant can be found at //www.bestfriends.org/sandyrelief/.

Those who wish to contribute to this emergency relief fund for the animals of Hurricane Sandy can visit https://secure.bestfriends.org/page/contribute/emergency. Gifts will be used exclusively for Best Friends' relief work to help animals during this and other disasters.

Best Friends' first responders, John Garcia and Ethan Gurney, have been in the New York-area the past few days, making contacts with rescue groups and city/county governmental agencies to offer their hands-on rescue expertise. Both are FEMA-trained in natural disaster emergency response and are prepared to provide backup to more than 12 city/county governmental organizations if needed.

Soon, Best Friends volunteers will be helping to fill in work shifts at shelters, delivering pet food in Bergen County, N.J., Long Island and other areas, and provide pet supplies to a shelter in Woodbridge, N.J.

Best Friends' New York Programs team is coordinating support of rebuilding efforts in the Tri-State area, which includes helping care for pets in an evacuation shelter and delivering emergency supplies to other flooded shelters whose supplies were destroyed. In the coming days, the team will:

  • Coordinate volunteers for the Sussex County, N.J. evacuation shelter to cover weekend and overnight shifts for the pet portion of the shelter.
  • Deliver wet food donated by our friends at Freshpet to the Bergen County Animal Shelter in Teterboro, N.J.
  • Organize shipments of dog and cat food, donated by Wag.com, along with other needed supplies to area shelters including the Bergen County Animal Shelter and the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter on Long Island. Both shelters are caring for pre-storm shelter animals as well as additional displaced pets. They are also offering food to hard hit pet owners in their respective communities.
  • Provide pet supplies such as collars, leashes and toys to the Woodbridge, N.J. shelter which was evacuated due to flooding but which has resumed operations.

Best Friends is grateful for the help of their online retail partner, Wag.com, which, in conjunction with Best Friends, has committed to donate a full week's worth of food for more than 200 dogs and cats, plus a week's worth of litter for more than 100 cats at the Bergen County Shelter, Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter, and Jersey City Humane Society. These much needed supplies are expected to be delivered to destination shelters by Best Friends volunteers today.

Wag.com is also launching a campaign starting today to raise funds for Best Friends' ongoing disaster relief work. When a special promotion code WAGDONATE is included with orders, Wag.com will make donations to the fund up to $10,000.

About Best Friends Animal Society®

Best Friends Animal Society®, named Animal Welfare Non-Profit National Brand of the Year based on the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend® study, is a national animal welfare organization building no-kill programs and partnerships that will bring about a day when there are No More Homeless Pets®. The society's leading initiatives in animal care and community programs are coordinated from its Kanab, Utah headquarters, the country's largest no-kill sanctuary. This work is made possible by the personal and financial support of a grassroots network of supporters and community partners across the nation.

To "like" Best Friends Animal Society on Facebook go to: //www.facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety

Follow Best Friends on Twitter: //twitter.com/bestfriends

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About Best Friends Animal Society

Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to around 400,000 last year. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 4,600 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org