Nearly 50 rescue dogs arrive in NYC after being saved from Kentucky floods: ‘It all was kind of kismet’ – New York Daily News

It was doggone great timing.

Four dozen shelter dogs made it safely to New York City Saturday after the rescue organization Muddy Paws welcomed the pups from Kentucky, where severe storms have triggered catastrophic flooding.

Muddy Paws had already arranged for the 48 dogs to be transported from the overcrowded Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society before the flooding began.

It all was kind of kismet, Muddy Paws Marketing Director Mallory Kerley told the Daily News. It all kind of came together at a really opportune time for the dogs and for the shelters down there.

Muddy Paws, based in Hells Kitchen, handles multiple transports each month from shelters in Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina and Alabama, with 25 to 30 dogs typically arriving at a time.

The 48 dogs arrived Saturday made up the biggest group of the year for Muddy Paws, which relies on New Yorkers to foster the homeless hounds for several weeks until they are adopted.

The 48 dogs arrived in New York on Saturday from Kentucky. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

These shelters have been overcrowded, really, for the entire summer, Kerley said. Its been pretty bad down there, and the floods definitely dont help. Now you have the floods taking out these shelters in those affected areas, and now those dogs have nowhere to go.

Muddy Paws launched in 2016 and has rescued more than 6,000 dogs.

The organization saves dogs of all breeds and ages, with New York City offering more homes for fostering and adoption than some of the rural areas in the South.

The dogs have already been placed in foster homes. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

These dogs are definitely at risk of euthanasia for space, and thats not something that our shelter has had to deal with recently, especially with the pandemic, Kerley said. The silver lining of the pandemic was that everyone wanted to adopt a dog, but weve seen this year that the interest has dramatically dropped.

We literally received an email from our partner down there saying, We are starting to have to make these decisions about euthanizing for space, which they havent had to do in a long time. Its really upsetting to them. They dont want to have to do that, and we dont want to put them in that position.

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The pups that arrived from Kentucky on Saturday have already been placed in their foster homes, and many will go up for adoption on the Muddy Paws website this week.

Volunteers help check in dogs that arrived from Kentucky. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

The flooding from the storms in Kentucky last week has taken a devastating toll: thousands of power outages, widespread debris and at least 26 deaths.

Lauren Latella, 32, is fostering a 10-month-old dog named Bonnie at her Upper West Side home, and says it feels especially important to provide shelter to a pooch that came from Kentucky.

Knowing that Bonnie is one of the foster dogs thats coming from the images that I can place on the news, and seeing all the flooding, and imagining what families are going through and our furry friends are going through, makes it a little more special, says Latella, a child and adolescent psychologist who has fostered five dogs through Muddy Paws and also volunteers with the organization.

Muddy Paws handles multiple transports each month from shelters in Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina and Alabama. (Muddy Paws Rescue)

Muddy Paws next transport will be Aug. 13.

The floods are extremely serious and scary, and its creating even more of an overcrowding situation in an area of the country that was already struggling with overcrowding in their shelters, Kerley said.

Groups like Muddy Paws are constantly working to relieve that overcrowding, so we dont need people just for now when these floods are happening. We need people all year, because the work never stops.

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Nearly 50 rescue dogs arrive in NYC after being saved from Kentucky floods: 'It all was kind of kismet' - New York Daily News