Hurricane Harvey has been ravaging Texas, leaving unimaginable flooding in its wake.
According to the Houston Patch and CNN, the Rockport and Corpus Christie areas have been hit the hardest, and approximately a dozen people have been injured thus far, with another 4 storm-related deaths. CNN estimates that about 8,000 people were staying in Houston shelters on August 28th, 2017, while another 5,000 were housed in the Houston Convention Center.
But, what about the animals?
Betty Walter, a resident of Houston, Texas, is a dog lover who works with a number of animal rescues.
When the storm hit Houston, Betty had been taking care of her 4 dogs, plus 11 from the various rescue groups. In addition to the 15, she had also been pet-sitting another pup for a friend.
But when it comes to rescuing an animal, Betty just can’t say no. As the storm grew heavier, the number of dogs in her care also begins to surge.
She tells iHeartDogs, “One small dog came to my window earlier Saturday morning. Two are homeless people’s dogs that live around there. They asked me for help. Two are neighbors’ dogs that belong to people.”
If you haven’t been keeping track, Betty is up to 21 dogs— and she’s determined to get them all to safety.
In a Facebook post written on August 27th, Betty describes the event, saying, “I don’t think I will ever forget those cries for help from dogs in my neighborhood. A lot of people kept their dogs outside. I tried so hard to go rescue a couple. The water was too high. They cried for hours. I stayed there until I got help.”
Luckily, help arrived just in the nick of time—in the form of a group of men equipped with a boat!
In another Facebook post, Betty writes, “To these amazing guys that help me and some of my neighbors’ dogs that I rescued. I was worried there would be too many dogs on the boat and it would tip over. I told them I would stay behind and for them to make 2 trips.
“They said NO we are taking all and you. We had 21 dogs on this boat. No place for any humans on this boat. We had to walk in water over my head to get out.”
People are delighted by Betty’s dedication to the abandoned animals— but many can’t believe that people could be heartless enough to leave their fur babies, to begin with!
Others, however, are more open-minded.
After the initial post, Betty was kind enough to provide a Facebook update, writing:
“We remain safe and dry. So many people stepped up and donated to me and my immediate needs are met. If you would still like to help, please consider a donation to Bay Area Pet Adoptions. BAPA is the only no-kill shelter in Galveston County. It is because of the support of this organization that I was able to shelter these dogs.”
If you’d like to make a donation to Bay Area Pet Adoption, you can do so here.
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