Already-crowded Columbia shelter took in NC refugee pups. Now another state’s helping

Since Sunday, 35 dogs from the Anson County, N.C., animal shelter have been calling Columbia’s animal shelter home.

The dogs had to be moved when Hurricane Florence partially collapsed the N.C. shelter’s ceiling and the facility was flooded. Anson County borders the South Carolina state line near Rockingham, N.C.

The influx of new animals has taxed the busy Columbia shelter on Shop Road, so now a facility in Tennessee is taking up to 60 or so homeless pets from Columbia to free up space, depending on the size of the van, Drum said.

“Our shelter was already pretty full, but the truth is we were very happy to help another agency in need and now just as grateful that other agencies are now able to help us,” said Marli Drum, superintendent of Columbia Animal Services.

At about 11 a.m. Thursday, the pets were to be trucked from the Columbia shelter to the Humane Educational Society in Chattanooga. From there they will either stay in Chattanooga, or be placed with other Humane Society shelters and partners in the state, Drum said.

All but two of the 35 North Carolina pups will be heading to Tennessee. Those two have new owners already, Drum said. The rest of the 60 dogs were being already housed by the Columbia shelter; they will be selected by the Tennessee shelter.

“We’re going to let them go shopping,” Drum, said.

Even after the pickup, the Columbia shelter will still have about 200 dogs, she said.

“We won’t be sitting empty by any means,” she said. “We’ll have plenty for adoption.”

The shelter plans to offer a special adoption fee of $20 on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The transfer is being made through the coordination of the Humane Society of the United States.

The Human Society’s Shelter and Rescue Partner Program is a national network of more than 300 shelters. They work together to target large-scale animal abuse cases — from animal fighting to puppy mills — and to respond during national disasters like Hurricane Florence.

“It’s a happy ending and the big winners in this are the dogs,” Drum said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 3:30 PM.