MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

DISTRAUGHT homeless animals fill up Kentucky shelter that withstood devastating tornadoes

The animals were given microchips and transported by the Humane Society of Kentucky to Massachusetts and other states

A Kentucky animal shelter is overwhelmed with dozens of pets who were left without a home after a spate of deadly tornadoes wreaked havoc across the state.

David Spalding, board president of the Mayfield-Graves County Animal Shelter, told the Daily Mail how their shelter somehow managed to remain standing. However, they are now tasked with taking in and transporting the helpless animals. At least 94 people are confirmed dead across six states following one of the largest storm outbreaks in history. The human death toll is 80 in Kentucky alone. "That number is going to exceed 100," Governor Andy Beshear said at a press conference on Sunday, December 12. "This is the deadliest tornado we have ever had." Meanwhile, at least 109 people remain unaccounted for.

RELATED ARTICLES

Missouri tornado victim Annistyn Rackley, 9, posed with favorite doll in final photo

'Dad will watch over you up there': 2-month-old Oaklynn Koon is youngest Kentucky tornado victim

"Today we're moving a little over 100 animals to other rescue organizations just to make room," Spalding told the Daily Mail. "We've never been through a situation like this. From what I'm told from the people who have been through disasters like this, is that after about three or four days to expect a large influx. Cats, dogs, right now the animals are scared, especially the ones that have completely lost their home. That was their comfort zone."

According to the newspaper, displaced animals were being held in crates as they hoped for their owners' return. Meanwhile, volunteers were seen preparing dogs and cats to move out of the Kentucky shelter as it expects dozens of more rescues in the coming days. The animals were given microchips and transported by the Humane Society of Kentucky to Massachusetts and other states where they can be accommodated.

Rescue efforts for both animals and humans are underway after at least 30 tornadoes caused a wave of destruction through Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee in the past week.

"Friday night we had massive destruction from an unprecedented tornado," Spalding said. "It happened to go right through the center of our town. Right now we're working with Kentucky Humane Society and other organizations to help remove the animals that we've already had here and take them to other rescue organizations so we can take in other animals, the hurt and the injured, that have been affected during the storm," he explained. "Most of them are large animals because they're easier for people to see. The smaller pets we're just starting to see today because people are a little more focused on what's going on."

According to him, there could be many more animals rescued in the remainder of the week. "The animals don't have a place to go back to so it may take a while for them to calm down and come out where they're visible and we can actually catch them and bring them in," Spalding told the Daily Mail, before noting they will be adding microchips to animals in order to properly track and identify them should their owners return to get them.

"We figure that some of these folks may be displaced for one or two weeks," he continued. "I haven't been sleeping much," Spalding added. "I'm overwhelmed, yes, but manageable."

Kat Rooks, initiatives director at the Kentucky Humane Center, was in one of the vans that picked up 27 dogs and eight cats from the Mayfield shelter. "This is going to be a long, long recovery there," Rooks told the Courier-Journal Monday after the rescue operation.

"Animals are coming in surrendered by good Samaritans. Animals coming in as strays. [Workers] are going out and assisting search-and-rescue teams and helping to remove animals from properties that have been devastated. They are already seeing an influx and expect that to continue." She added, "There were a lot of tears on Saturday. These are my friends, people that I know, I work with closely. People that I know lost everything there."