It's been a year since Superstorm Sandy devastated the East Coast, and even after all this time, hundreds of cats and dogs lost and abandoned in the wake of the hurricane remain homeless and unclaimed in the U.S., waiting in shelters to be adopted or reunited with their owners, NBC News reports.
Trish Lane, who operates the Facebook page Hurricane Sandy Lost and Found Pets from her home New Hampshire, told NBC News that many families were forced to surrender their pets to animal shelters after losing their homes in the storm, some hoping to adopt them after they'd gotten their lives back on track, while others simply left their animals to fend for themselves.
A Long Island, N.Y. family left their pitbull at a shelter for a year in hopes that they could retrieve him "once they got their lives together," only to find out on Sunday that he had been adopted by a woman in Chicago.
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) spokeswoman Emily Schneider told NBC News that in the months following Sandy, more than 30,000 pets in New York and New Jersey were provided assistance, and hundreds were reunited with their owners. Rescuing animals is mandatory under federal law, meaning the state and local governments must include pets in emergency plans. In New York City, shelters are required to take in pets, as are taxis and public transportation.
"The huge necessity is for a pet owner to have identification on their pet - an ID, name, phone number, location," said Risa Weinstock, executive director of Animal Care and Control of New York City, adding that microchips can be a good tool for owners to help reunite them with their animals in the event of an emergency.
One woman from Woodstown, N.J. said that Trish Lane's Lost and Found Pets page on Facebook was key in helping her find her seven-year-old cat that went missing days after the storm. She and her boyfriend received half a dozen tips from people who found black and white cats that matched the description of their own kitty, Bird.
"Within three days we knew that she definitely got lost in the storm," Caitlin Stewart said to NBC News. "We didn't get her back until a week before Christmas."
A family that lived three miles from Stewart reported that her Bird was in a crate in their backyard. Since returning home, it's taken the cat some time to adjust to life back indoors.
"She had been living out of garbage cans. She'd been living outside - no shelter," Stewart said, adding that she'd had Bird microchipped since the storm.
Click here to see a photo of Caitlin Stewart reunited with her cat Bird thanks to Trish Lane's Facebook page operation.
