As Hurricane Florence batters the East Coast, people caught within the storm are hunkering down and trying to ride it out. Emergency crews are working non-stop to save as many people as they can. Unfortunately, people are not the only ones who are stuck. There are animals stuck in shelters waiting for a chance to get out of the storm’s path.
These furry critters are stuck because people just didn’t have the room to drive them anywhere, or to take them in. This is something that happens frequently with natural disasters. While the people try to escape the danger, the pets are forgotten. Luckily, one person is trying to change that.
Tony Alsup, a 51-year-old trucker from Greenback, Tennessee, has made it his mission to rescue as many animals as he can from Hurricane Florence. Alsup started his mission when he saw how overcrowded animal shelters became after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas last year. Using his own money, he bought a school bus, removed the seats, and set to work rescuing and transporting the animals.
On September 10th, Alsup began rescuing animals from the path of Hurricane Florence. In just one week, he managed to rescue 53 dogs and 11 cats from the path of the hurricane, and he has plans of rescuing more. Alsup rescues the animals and takes them to shelters that have vacancies with the hopes that the animals will be able to find their forever homes.
Alsup believes in the idea that all lives are important, whether they are human, or are something with a little more fur. He will do everything in his power to make sure that no animal is left behind.