How You Can Help Animals Affected by Hurricane Florence

If you've ever considered rescuing a pet, now's the time to take the plunge: You could save an animal's life if you choose to adopt from a shelter in the path of Hurricane Florence.

With the Category 1 storm making landfall over the Carolinas this week, government officials have urged as many as 1.7 million residents to evacuate their homes. As a result, local animal shelters are scrambling to find homes for abandoned pets before the worst of the storm hits, and if they aren't able to place them in time, some animals will have to be euthanized.

That makes now the perfect time to adopt a pet if you're in the position to do so. Some shelters, like the Pender County Animal Shelter in Burgaw, North Carolina, have even waived their adoption fees in an effort to encourage more people to take pets home.

If you can't make a commitment to owning a pet at this time, fostering is also an option. Most shelters in the storm path will gladly place pets with someone who can give a dog or cat shelter until it's safe for them to return to the area. And if that's still not a possibility for you, you can help shelters by making a monetary donation. Transporting pets and making sure they're spayed, neutered, and vaccinated costs money, and shelters can use donations to help more pets get out the door and into safe homes.

The Charleston Animal Society, the Greenville Humane Society, the Humane Society of Charlotte, and the Pender County Animal Shelter are just a handful of animal shelters in need of assistance. You can also look at specific requests for support local shelters have made through this website.