Orphaned animals rescued from Oklahoma shelters arrived at PAWS Chicago Sunday after wreckage left Oklahoma City suburbs in shambles and animal shelters overflowing Monday.
PAWS Chicago rescued more than 75 animals in hopes of clearing space for the flood of animals needing shelter after tornadoes blasted through the small suburban areas last week.
"Whenever there's a natural disaster animals are going to be displaced and enter our sheltering system," said Rochelle Michalek, executive director of PAWS Chicago. "Within our sheltering system we have finite capacity."
PAWS Chicago said on their
website that rescuing the cats and dogs, which were part of a pre-existing population at Oklahoma shelters, will make room for them to "care for the influx of animals from this natural disaster."
Animals orphaned by the tornadoes will stay in the Oklahoma shelters for 30 days for families to find, the website states.
Many of the animals that arrived in the Chicago shelter Sunday will be placed up for adoption as early as Memorial Day at their Lincoln Park Adoption Center, the shelter said.
