At 4 a.m., animal rescue trucks lined up to roll onto the tarmac in Fort Lauderdale.
“Everybody start unloading ‘Saving Sage,’” shouted Erin Robbins of Greater Good Charities, directing volunteers to open up one of the local shelter vans. The coordinated effort went quickly - crews emptied three vans in about an hour, stacking cat crates on a waiting aircraft.
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WATCH HERE“We make sure they’re all strapped down and secure, lots of air ventilation and everything for them,” said Robbins. “They have frozen food and water with them, and it’s just great.”
193 felines boarded the charter flight in Fort Lauderdale, headed for Jacksonville to pick up some canine passengers, and then on to New Jersey and New Hampshire - where forever homes are waiting for them.
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They line up for cats in New Hampshire, said Robbins. She estimated the cats would not spend more than five days in a shelter waiting for new homes.
That’s good news for adult cats like Keanu, who spent six months waiting to be adopted at a Broward shelter. It’s bittersweet for the volunteers to bid farewell, some with tears in their eyes, but knowing the goodbye is for the best.
Mary Steffen noted the northeast region of the country has greater availability for homes than South Florida. “They just seem to not have the same issues that we do down here, and they have a huge demand for cats and kittens,” Steffen said.
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The rescue effort is part of NBC6’s Clear the Shelters. Good Karma Pet Rescue, Saving Sage, and the Humane Society of Broward delivered the cats and the volunteers to the airport.
Nicolas Cavieres piloted the plane. He said he doesn’t mind all the meowing at 30,000 feet. “They behave better than some babies I know.”
Cavieres turned on the engines just before 5:30 am, as the plane taxied away and took off toward the kitties’ new homes.
