National Rescue Team And Giant Truck Arrive To Help Animals Caught In Historic South Carolina Flooding

MONCKS CORNER NORTH OF CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Humane Association's renowned Red Star® Rescue team, accompanied by one of its giant 50-foot Lois Pope Red Star Rescue Vehicles, has deployed to South Carolina a second time to help animal victims of the flooding there. The Red Star program's presenting sponsor is Mars Petcare US, makers of PEDIGREE® Food for Dogs. The giant rescue vehicle on the scene was made possible by the support of philanthropist Lois Pope and Banfield Pet Hospital®.  Zoetis, a leading animal health company, is providing medical care packages to help pets affected by the historic flooding.

This deployment of the 100-year-old Red Star Recue program comes at the request of the Berkley County Emergency Management Office, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, and the Doc Williams SPCA Animal Shelter, which is being hard-pressed to find a solution for a growing problem. One of the only shelters in the area continuing to take dogs, they have a capacity for 100 animals and are currently at approximately 200-250 with more coming in each day.

American Humane Association's team is working to relieve overcrowding at the Doc Williams shelter by relocating dogs to other receiving shelters in the state. Every attempt will be made to reunify dogs with their owners.

"The Red Star Rescue team is and has been there for the families, pets, and shelter animals who have suffered in the wake of this devastating flooding," said Randal Collins, the National Director for Red Star Rescue for Animals. "We were in the state shortly after the flooding began rescuing animals and delivering much-needed food and supplies. We will keep coming back as long as we are needed. Thank you to Mars Petcare US, makers of PEDIGREE® Food for Dogs, philanthropist Lois Pope, Banfield Pet Hospital, and Zoetis for their generous support."

Free Help for Pet Owners in Disaster Areas Where Red Star Deploys
To further help pets and pet owners, American Humane Association's century-old Red Star Rescue program, has a partnership with mobiPET, a free new, high-tech, visual "AMBER Alert" for missing pets that helps reunite lost pets with their owners.  Any pet owner who has lost a pet in the Charleston, South Carolina area who has a photo of their pet in their smartphone or computer can go to www.mobipet.me and click on the Red Star Rescue tab to fill in your information including a photo of your missing pet and enter your 5-digit zip code to verify. This program requires a smart phone with a wireless connection or a computer with an internet connection to activate the lost pet photo alert to the designated animal shelter(s).  mobiPET has waived the $50 fee normally associated with non-registered pet owners who have lost a pet in the deployed disaster area. If you are outside the designated area and have lost a pet, please click on FIND MY PET button on the front page of the website and mobiPET will send the alert out to shelters and animal control centers within a 30-mile radius. Generally, non-registered owners whose pet becomes lost can access the service for a $50.00 emergency registration fee, but during a Red Star deployment, mobiPet is waiving the fee for those within the disaster area.

About American Humane Association
American Humane Association is the country's first national humane organization and the only one dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Since 1877, American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting our most vulnerable from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today we're also leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine and society. American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org today.

About Red Star® Rescue
American Humane Association's Red Star program was created in 1916 at the request of the U.S. Secretary of War specifically to rescue war horses on the battlefields of World War I Europe.  Since then, Red Star has been rescuing animals of every kind and have been involved in virtually every major disaster relief effort from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Joplin, Missouri and Moore, Oklahoma tornadoes, the Japanese and Haitian earthquakes, and Superstorm Sandy.  Over just the past ten years Red Star teams have saved, helped and sheltered more than 80,000 animals.

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SOURCE American Humane Association

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