The Hill has become a haven for the homeless from Hurricane Harvey. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, Living Free Animal Sanctuary in Mountain Center volunteered to accept five dogs from the Texas and Louisiana areas, which Hurricane Harvey devastated earlier this month.
After adjusting to the low humidity and higher altitude, the five new residents may make an appearance at Living Free’s fourth-annual Howl and Yowl on Sept. 30, according to Edgar Santiago, kennel manager.
Two buses of dogs were sent to Southern California. The destinations were Palm Springs and San Diego. The Bianca Rae Foundation of Palm Desert arranged for the dogs to be brought to Southern California and then contacted several local kennels, as well as Living Free, to find new homes for them.
The five new residents on the Hill spent a week traveling and were extremely happy to disembark from the vehicle to stand solidly on land. Santiago met the buses transporting all of the dogs in Palm Desert and then drove these five to the Living Free Sanctuary Wednesday evening.
However, all — Adam, Daphne, Pharo, River and Venus —appeared to need several good meals since their rib cages were easily visible as they stood and walked. Although they had all been residents of animal shelters in Texas or Louisiana, the pervasive destruction of homes in those areas created a huge demand for shelters to take abandoned and lost dogs, whose local owners had no homes — human or canine — left.
Two were family: mother Daphne and daughter Venus. They have brown fur. Two, Adam and River, are black and Pharo is a light brown with almost fawn-colored fur.
They all were grateful to be able to stand without rocking and even to run around their new homes in Mountain Center. Santiago offered them a meal shortly after their arrival. It didn’t take much time to consume this food.
Medical care and vaccines are next on the dogs’ agenda. And they should be available for adoption within three weeks, Santiago said.
