Thank you: Palmetto Animal League

Palmetto Animal League was put to the test on October 7th when Hurricane Matthew came swirling into town. PAL was extremely fortunate. Our building is rated to withstand a Category 3 Hurricane, and luckily power was only out for one day. Our ‘home team’ stayed at the Adoption Center with roughly half of the pets while our ‘away team’ evacuated over 100 animals to Aiken, SC.

One day after the evacuation order was lifted, the American Humane Association’s Red Star unit set up a base of operations in PAL’s parking lot. Together, American Humane and the National Veterinary Response Team distributed thousands of pounds of pet food and cat litter and provided veterinary care to those in need.

A few days later Kroger kindly donated 8,000 pounds of pet food for PAL to distribute. Dr. Rodell Lawrence, Executive Director of the Penn Center, allowed us to give out the supplies from their location on Saint Helena Island. Tom Curry of Lowcountry Paver relocated the Kroger trailer stocked with pet food and Teresa Forrest of Forrest Concrete sent a pallet jack to unload the supplies. Local media outlets helped spread the word so folks who needed help for their animals could respond. Every morsel was donated to those in need.

Animal loving individuals coming together creates a different kind of storm, one that is far more powerful and long-lasting than any hurricane. The ugliness of disaster is no match for Lowcountry families as we unite to help animals and each other.

This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Thank you: Palmetto Animal League."