Hundreds of dogs, who were destined for an untimely death at overcrowded animal shelters in Puerto Rico, have been given a second chance thanks to Operation Grey Muzzle. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), over 200 dogs will have the chance to live out the rest of their lives thanks to a coalition effort working to relieve the strain on shelters in Puerto Rico which are overwhelmed with abandoned and unwanted dogs.
Kim Alboum, director of sheltering outreach and policy engagement for The HSUS, stated:
“We’re grateful to all of the receiving organizations for opening their doors to these dogs in need. We hope this operation results in new homes for these wonderful dogs and provides much-needed breathing room for the animal shelters as they work toward sustainable solutions to the massive pet overpopulation on the island.”
She added:
“They run out of room and, unfortunately, they have to euthanize for space. It’s heartbreaking for the staff and it’s devastating because these animals are all highly adoptable.”
The Humane Society of Broward County welcomed 24 of the relocated dogs to its facility. The shelter staff is confident that the dogs from Puerto Rico will be adopted quickly.
Participants in Operation Grey Muzzle include Wings of Rescue, Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team, GreaterGood.org, The Grey Muzzle Organization, Big Dog Ranch Rescue, Grace Park Animal Hospital, the Humane Society of Broward County, the Humane Society of Charlotte and The Sato Project.
(Images via Humane Society of Broward County FB page)
More news and updates at the National Animal News Facebook page.
People go crazy for frowning shelter dog, but his adoption smile is even better. Check it out here.
Good for the DOGS IN Puerto Rico I am not mad at them for getting a second chance!!! BUT what about the 200 dogs at Shelters in THE USA such as Mamie Dade in Florida that will be Euthanizing on a daily basis because THEY are full of “AMERICAN BORN DOGS THAT CAN”T FIND PEOPLE TO ADOPT THEM>>> I think this is NOTHING SHORT OF BULLSHIT!!! WHY ISN”T THE HSUS DOING MORE HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY and BE THE HERO”S HERE INSTEAD OF A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!!!
Maybe someone could arrange for some of them to be flown to northern states where I am told there is a shortage. Start the ball rolling!!! Someone needs to do it!!!!!!!!
Penny I thought of you when reading this article. Remembering your concerns about this issue when our own dogs in the US need help. I agree. Because of the hurricane my concerns are the dogs in Texas? Is anyone going around picking up the stray dogs that need our help?!
WHY doesn’t the HSUS DO MORE TO help those DOG”S in shelters down in TEXAS , FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA that are USA Breed & Born FIND homes!!!!!! there will NOW BE 200 more USA DOGS EUTHANIZED to MAKE ROOM FOR THE PUERTO RICO DOGS !!! SUCH A DAMN SHAME !!!
hello, anyone ever heard of spay and neuter?
What Goes here!!!! IS OUR OWN COUNTRY NO LONGER IN A CRISIS of EUTHANISA & NOT BEING ABLE TO PLACE DOGS THAT ARE LANGUSHING IN USA SHELTER”S ( OH YES THEY ARE KILL SHELTER”S TOO) TWO HUNDRED OF OUR OWN WILL DIE FOR TWO HUNDRED PURTO RICAN”S DOGS TO BE PLACED IN THE USA!!!
I have POSTED TWICE ABOUT WHAT I THINK ABOUT THIS HAPPENING !!! GUESS WHAT IT has no profanity, only an opinion and it comes back DUPLICATE and They won’t post my comment!!! ARE YOUR Salaries being paid for HSUS !!!
the simple truth is the two writers who essentially volunteer the majority of their lives writing content for this site occasionally step away from the computer for a few minutes, we only with that someone was paying us a salary.
It is great for these dogs to get a second chance but what about the over crowding in this country?NYACC are always killing dogs even though they are suppose to be going towards no kill shelters (I’ll believe that when I see it). The shelters around me are not always crowded so why don’t shelters across the country who are over crowded see if a few of their adoptable dogs/cats can be transferred to other parts of this country? Something can be done but shelters don’t always work together and they should. More animals from the southern states would be adopted in northern states.
Puerto Rico is considered part of the United States. The suffering of dogs in Puerto Rico is immense and heartstopping,Puerto Rico is drowning in debt and of course it’s the dogs and cats who pay the price the most. How I wish we could find a way effectively curb the over population of dogs and cats everywhere! Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had free spay and neuter clinics with vets willing to donate their services? Unfortunately we would STILL have people out there who still would not fix their dogs! But I think it would help! The life of stray dogs and cats has to be one of the most heartbreaking things I think there is! The frustration and helpless feeling we all feel about it is so very hard. We have pilots that fly homeless dogs from over crowded shelters in an effort to save them from euthanasia,they mostly come from the West coast to the East coast where there are more shelters available that aren’t busting at the seams with dogs. It’s all so,so sad!
I think this a,wonderful second chance for these dogs. Someone of you are correct about the shelter in N.Y.. Well I hate to say it, but the people in their management team do not care about the dogs welfare, they do nothing about adopting them out. It’s the volunteers who try so hard to network them and get them rescue .
Puerto Rico needs to step up and start a low cost/no cost spaying/neutering program instead of letting them languish in kill shelters – by transporting these poor animals to the U.S. they are hardly ensuring they will ever be adopted, especially since there are millions of animals here who will never get homes. Miami-Dade is nothing more than a death camp for animals so to think these dogs will actually get homes is a pipe dream.
I’m happy to see this because there is more help available here than in Puerto Rico. They have managed to get themselves in so much debt that any extra money that might be available would never go towards helping the dogs. We are considered the richest nation in the world,but the money our government wastes and mismanages is massive. We really do need to find other ways to try and curb the mass overpopulation of dogs because killing by the millions yearly without attempting to try to find different solutions to curb the over population problem is like running in circles with dogs paying the price with their lives. The numbers of homeless dogs being killed for being homeless will continue to grow and grow with every passing year if we do not at least TRY to find other solutions. The Humane Society of the United States says there are more homes available than there are homeless dogs, but because of space issues and funding the dogs are not afforded the time necessary to find those homes. Outlawing puppy mills would be a good first start, because not only do they add to the overpopulation, they are nothing more than legal torture chambers from hell for dogs, where cruelty and abuse reign! I thought animal cruelty was against the law,but I guess that law does not apply to puppy mills! It’s so overwhelming,so heartbreaking,and I think about the suffering of dogs and cats the greater part of everyday! FRUSTRATING BEYOND BELIEF! I’m happy whenever dogs can be saved no matter where they come from,which is why I thank God everyday for all our amazing rescue organization,animal advocates and animal lovers who do all that they can to help to save the life of the millions of suffering dogs out there!
This is wonderful news! Thank goodness these shelters agreed to help out! Hope the dogs all find good homes to live in forever!