Natural disasters of Hurricane Harvey’s magnitude cause nearly as much chaos as they do property damage. Luckily for the animals of Houston, there have been countless volunteers working day and night to get them out of harm’s way and into the safety of shelters across the country. Due to the overcrowding and confusion left in Harvey’s wake, a pup named Katana has embarked on quite a journey – from Beaumont, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona and back to Texas again!
Katana was one of several dogs already in the care of an animal rescue group called Pups in Peril. The organization is located in Beaumont, Texas -which just so happens to be directly in Hurricane Harvey’s major impact zone.
In order to alleviate overcrowding at the facility and free up precious resources for the influx of storm victims, an Arizona-based volunteer group dropping off supplies in the area agreed to drive 12 Pups in Peril dogs back to the Phoenix area with them.
“It was just a matter of trying to open our hearts up, to accept something different, and try to do something right by what was happening out there,” Brian Morris from the charity We Support Texas told ABC News 15.
Katana happened to be one of those twelve pups hitching a ride to be adopted by an Arizona family. Sadly, just two days after she was placed into her new home, Katana was surrendered to the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control Center (MCACC). Her adopter stated she was too big and difficult to handle.
As is their protocol, MCACC staff scanned her for a microchip and were shocked to discover that she was registered to Pups in Peril Rescue in Texas! The team at We Support Texas headed to the shelter to claim Katana as soon as they got word of her plight.
Brian Morris, who got to know Katana on their long drive North plans to drive her back to Texas next week where she will be returned to the care of Pups in Peril.
“The main message here is do your homework when you’re doing an adoption,” MCACC spokesman, Jose Santiago said. “Make sure you’re asking the questions about behavior and where the dog possibly may have come from and really realize this is a lifelong commitment for this animal. The last thing we want people to do is adopt an animal and return it to a shelter environment.”
“A lot of folks had big hearts when they heard about Hurricane Harvey. They wanted to help in any way, shape and form and we have a lot of animal lovers out there,” Santiago added. “We want to make sure when you’re making that commitment, it’s a lifelong commitment.”
H/T & Featured Image via ABC News 15
