Rescued dog
A dog orphaned by Hurricane Harvey arrives in San Diego on a Wings of Rescue flight. Courtesy Rancho Coastal Humane Society


Updated at 5:53 p.m. Sept. 5, 2017:

For the nonprofit Wings of Rescue, it was the second trip in about a week to Gillespie Field in El Cajon, bringing in pets to create room for dogs and cats orphaned during the storm.

More than 100 dogs and cats were brought to San Diego County last week from a shelter in Lafayette, Louisiana. The 85 canines and 20 felines were taken to several facilities across San Diego, including Labradors and Friends Rescue, the San Diego Humane Society and the Rancho Coastal Humane Society.

About the same number came in on Tuesday’s flight. Both planeloads were of animals that were already in shelters when the storm struck and didn’t have owners out looking for them.

“Here in San Diego, we have a dozen animal shelters and more than 200 registered rescue groups,” John Van Zante of the Ramcho Coastal Humane Society told CBS8. “In other parts of the county, (the pets) have got one shot.”

Another plane full of pets arrived via a special Southwest Airlines flight to Lindbergh Field.

A group from the Helen Woodward Animal Center of Rancho Santa Fe went to the Houston area last week following Hurricane Harvey, and brought back 80 dogs and cats. Those animals were taken to the center in Rancho Santa Fe, where they will be put up for adoption.

—City News Service