An animal shelter in Omaha-Council Bluffs will be getting in more than a dozen dogs that were left without homes when Hurricane Maria plowed through the Caribbean in September. Pam Wiese, spokeswoman for the Nebraska Humane Society, says the canines are coming from the island of Saint Croix and they need new families in Iowa and Nebraska to love them.

“We sent a couple of staff members, one a veterinarian and one a behaviorist, to St. Croix to help out in an emergency response shelter they had set up to help with the hurricane dogs and other animals that were left homeless,” Wiese says. “They’re now winding down their response operation on the island and they want to relocate those animals to improve their chances of finding homes.” Wiese says hundreds of dogs from the U-S Virgin Islands were flown into Florida late last week.

“They are being dispersed to various shelters across the country who have said that they have room,” she says. “I think that we’ll be getting about 15 dogs in from St. Croix.” The animals will be fully checked over for any potential medical issues.

“We’ll get them treated for whatever ailments they have and make them available for adoption,” she says, “so they’ll all get second chances.” Shelters in Florida, Texas and Missouri (Kansas City) are also taking in dogs that survived the storm and are now in need of “forever” homes.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James – Omaha)