The flooding in Colorado continues to have a devastating impact: More than 11,000 people were ordered to evacuate, more than 17,000 homes have been damaged, and more than 1,000 people are unaccounted for, according to the Denver Post.
As of Sunday, rescuers have evacuated more than 2,100 people and more than 500 pets, most by helicopter, according to the Post. Six people have died. All those numbers are expected to rise as the rains continue.
As for the pet evacuations and rescues, we’ve seen a lot in the news. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page, “Our victims advocates told me tonight there were almost as many pets as people getting off the evacuation helicopters today, 475 evacuated!”
On CNN, Jonathan Linenberger described a “Noah’s Ark-style evacuation” as he, his fiancee, and four dogs and three cats greeted the National Guard truck in the Boulder County town of Lyons. “We had to go (through) knee-deep water, at least. We had to wade our animals across into the truck to get them there,” said Linenberger. “That was the first thing you can grab, your loved ones — and that’s what we have.”
Even the governor rescued a dog. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gov. John Hickenlooper said his helicopter crew stopped to rescue four stranded people, a dog, and a cat while he was on his way to a press conference Saturday.
You might be wondering: How can I help? Perhaps the easiest way is heading to Freekibble today and answering a pet-related trivia question. As you may know, when you answer a question on Freekibble, right or wrong, the site donates 10 pieces of Halo Spot’s Stew to animal shelters to help feed their hungry dogs.
Today, Tuesday, September 17, all kibble earned will be donated to pets impacted by the flooding in Colorado. Go there now.
To learn more about the animal evacuation shelters for Colorado flooding, check out this page by Examiner.com, which lists shelters and resources. And go to Freekibble!