On Tuesday, 53 dogs were saved from a plane crash by a shelter in Wisconsin. Since then, “hundreds” of people have asked to adopt the lucky dogs.
The Human Animal Welfare Center of Waukesha County (HAWS) told The Independent that it had been flooded with donations and questions about the hounds, who were being flown from Louisiana to Wisconsin to be adopted.
“Jennifer Smieja, a communications specialist at HAWS, said, “Our phones haven’t stopped ringing all day.” “The response from our community has been incredible.
“Many people have asked if they can adopt, if they can support with donations, or if they can come in to assist with the dogs by bringing towels, toys, treats, and the like… “
Because of the care and kindness we’ve seen today, we now have faith in people again.”
She thought that the organization had gotten “hundreds” of requests to adopt the dogs, but she didn’t know for sure because the requests came in the form of phone calls, emails, and social media messages.
On Tuesday, the plane carrying the 53 dogs from New Orleans to HAWS’ kennels lost one of its engines and crashed into a golf course in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
The three people on board the plane and the 53 dogs all made it out without serious injuries. About a dozen HAWS staff and volunteers were already at the airport to pick them up, so they were able to get to the scene quickly.
“When we first heard that the plane had made an emergency landing and that we were on our way to the scene, we had a lot of ideas about what we might find,” Ms. Smieja told The Independent.
“It turned out that it was just a big group of people working together to save the dogs and make sure everyone was safe. And now it’s been going on for hours.”
By Tuesday night, HAWS had raised more than $2,600 through a Facebook fundraiser to help take care of the dogs. They had also raised between $1,500 and $2,000 in other ways.
Ms. Smieja said that even during special fundraising drives, it would usually take weeks or a month to raise that amount. “It doesn’t seem real,” she replied. “We don’t get this many donations in just a few hours very often.”
HAWS is now taking care of the dogs’ injuries and figuring out what kind of people they are, including if they have any behavior problems or mental scars from the crash or from their past lives.
Ms. Smieja said that once that is done, the dogs will be put up for adoption on HAWS’s website as usual.
She said, “We never know what an animal is like until we’ve lived with it for a few days.” “We’ve always thought that the most important thing we can do is make sure these matches last and that both the pet and the person are a good fit for each other.
“We’re open seven days a week, and people who want to adopt can come in at any time.”