At least 3,500 animals stranded by the rain were rescued in RS

Public authorities and volunteer teams rescued at least 3,500 animals stranded by the rains in Rio Grande do Sul (RS). However, the number must be much higher, as several groups of volunteers have been formed to rescue dogs and cats that were left behind due to the floods that are ravaging the state.

Public authorities teams rescued 3,200 animals until Saturday night (4), while volunteers rescued at least 350 animals.

The owner of a pet shop and an animal daycare in Esteio (RS), Carla Ebert, said that, just yesterday, she welcomed 50 animals left behind in the floods. She reports that ordinary people are rescuing the stranded animals and taking them to a shelter provided by the city hall.

“It’s very animal. It's an absurd thing. We will see when the water recedes, we are not even prepared for that, due to those who died. It’s very sad”, lamented Carla. “We organized ourselves as best we could and people took the animals,” she added.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Disaster Animal Response Group (Grad Brasil) reports that, in just one day, they relocated around 100 animals in the municipalities of Esteio and São Sebastiao do Caí, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.

“There are a lot of animals, people, on the tip of the roof, there are a lot of animals trapped in the window, there are a lot of animals that are swimming tirelessly, it’s very, very, I can’t give you a number of how many animals there are,” Carla reported on a social network Sássi, Grad coordinator.

Sássi added that the organization needs a boat with a motor to expand rescues, as the current is strong.

“Demands for rescues keep coming, but many areas remain inaccessible. We need to increase our team in the field and we are requesting support from motor vessels to save as many animals as possible”, said Grad Brasil in a statement.

Another organization that has worked to rescue and care for stranded dogs and cats is Campo Bom pra Cachorro, which is located in the municipality of Campo Bom (RS), in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. According to the NGO, they rescued 80 animals in a single day, reaching a total of 200 animals removed from the water by volunteers.

The number of animals rescued was so large that they no longer have space to receive new animals and are asking for help from other people on social media so that they can temporarily shelter the animals lost due to flooding.

“Novo Hamburgo (RS) is sending a lot of dogs here. We can no longer accept animals here. There are people arriving here being rude to us, fighting with us, wanting to bring animals from all neighborhoods at any cost”, Kayanne Braga, a volunteer with the organization, reported on social media.