This post has been a long time coming, its been officially 55 days since Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico and her force can still be felt. From the countless families without homes or power, to visible structural damage, to the humanitarian efforts still in full force, its been a life changing experience. I remember feeling a heart dropping sense when images and stories started coming up right after Hurricane Irma made its way through Florida and the Caribbean, and when Harvey hit Texas, but I was still optimistic about how we would weather María. I don’t think María left a stone unturned in the entire island; it was a phenomenon that engulfed us completely. Regardless of all we lost, we need to get right back up, which is definitely easier, said than done, but it should be our north.

 About two weeks after Maria, we volunteered at a local animal shelter to help restore the area affected by the strong winds and severe flooding. Around 1,000 pounds of food were lost, their entire first floor got flooded and structural damage was suffered. We know this scenario replicated itself around all of Puerto Rico and many animal shelters are in need of donations. What makes it even more imperative to help the different animal shelters and organizations get back on track, is the increase in amount of animals being left behind by families moving to the states. We ask you, our readers, to please consider donating to the efforts to help animal shelters and organizations in Puerto Rico get right back up! You can donate directly to any shelter/organization in Puerto Rico or you can also go to Pedigree Puerto Rico and Pet Friendly PR joint effort "Dame una patita" to help animal shelters. Pedigree Puerto Rico will be matching donations up to $50,000 and they’ll both be allocating volunteers and funds to the shelters. They aim to satisfy the needs for water, food, reconstruction and covering vet bills. We can’t dwell in what happened if we want to make a difference and create our future.

 

The pictures included were all taken at Santuario de Animales San Francisco de Asís. They show some of the damage they endured during the hurricane and also, some of their cats and dogs that are safe and sound thanks to their amazing team.