WALDORF, Md. 鈥� Virginia Rymer decompressed after an all-night drive to Maryland with 70 to 80 cats and kittens from Florida.
She鈥檚 the animal control officer for Brevard County, Florida, and she and a colleague brought the felines from Florida shelters to Last Chance Animal Rescue, in Waldorf. 鈥淔lorida is over-populated with cats,鈥� Rymer said, and she鈥檚 making room for an influx of cats displaced by Hurricane Irma.
鈥淟ast Chance has been a great partner with us,鈥� Rymer said.
鈥淲hen they take these kitties out of the shelter, there鈥檚 room for the strays 鈥� [from] the hurricane,鈥� said Cindy Sharpley, director of Last Chance Animal Rescue.
She said it will be a week for so before these cats are available for adoption: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get 鈥榚m checked in and squared away, get 鈥榚m some good food, some de-wormer and vaccines. We鈥檒l have the vet check 鈥榚m out, get 鈥榚m spayed and neutered 鈥� and they鈥檒l be available for adoption soon.鈥�
In the meantime, Sharpley said, animals they received from Texas, Louisiana and other states hit by Hurricane Harvey are ready to go. And they hope a lot of them will head to new forever homes on Saturday, Sept. 16. Last Chance is hosting Puppypalooza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the PetSmart at 9041 Snowden Square Drive in Columbia, Maryland.
