Makeshift shelter saves hundreds of dogs amid floods in southern Brazil

(10 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Canoas, Brazil - 09 May 2024
1. Various of people looking for their dogs in a makeshift dog shelter set up in an abandoned roofless warehouse
2. Various of dogs in the shelter
3. Éder Luis da Silva Camargo and his wife Jenifer Gabriela after finding two of their six dogs lost in the flooding
4. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Éder Luis da Silva Camargo, 25 years old, displaced garbage collector:
“We ran out because of the flood. They came with us, but when it was time to get into the boat, we got lost. They were terrified, so they ran off, and we couldn't catch them. But we've found them now, thank God.”
5. Various of dogs in the shelter
6. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Gabriel Cardoso, 28, shelter organizer:
“It's a thrill for us in the midst of chaos to be able to celebrate a victory, an achievement, a reunion, because it's a family member. So meeting a family member is joy.”
7. Various of volunteers and residents looking for their dogs in the shelter
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of volunteers have set up a makeshift dog shelter in an abandoned, roofless warehouse in the Brazilian city of Canoas, one of the hardest hit by floods since last week.
They treat and feed sick, hungry, or injured dogs, hoping to reunite them with their owners.
Their work was at full steam as heavy rains were expected again in the region for the weekend.
Floods in Rio Grande do Sul have killed at least 107 people and another 136 are reported missing. More than 230,000 people have been displaced, according to state authorities.
There is no official tally for the number of animals that have died or are missing, but local media estimated the number to be in the thousands.
Since Sunday, the makeshift shelter, about the size of a football pitch, has welcomed hundreds of ill and agitated canines from inundated areas.
Every hour, between 20 and 30 dogs arrive, many of them injured after having been run over or nearly drowned.
The shelter sends some to veterinary hospitals, but others in need of medical attention are too frail to be transported.
With no government coordination for the displaced animals, many were drawn to the movement following a social media campaign.
Éder Luis da Silva Camargo, a garbage collector in Canoas, found two of his six dogs at the center after searching for two days.
Hunter and Preta were separated from him on Tuesday as they boarded different boats during a rescue operation.
He and his wife, Jenifer Gabriela, want to find their four missing dogs: Bob, Meg, Polaca, and Ravena.
Animal protection groups and volunteers have shared images of difficult rescues and heartwarming scenes of pets reuniting with their owners on social media, spurring Brazilians to send donations and bringing veterinarians to the region.
AP video shot by Lucas Dumphreys
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[@ES11777]

Thank you for helping the helpless 💙💙💙

[@bequinhas2007]

OBRIGADÃO GENTE DEUS VOS ABENÇOE TODA A VIDA 🙏❤🐕💙

[@animone2711]

❤

[@Sugurain]

*Thousands.
There's over 20.000 rescued animals in shelters already!

[@karengomez4991]

No entiendo como los dueños pudieron abandonarlos, eso es una crueldad.

[@washingtonchagas2598]

Antes de falar merda procure saber a catástrofe que aconteceu.. gringa idiotia que quer julgar sem saber o que aconteceu 🤮🤮

[@VanNatalRN]

There are corpses floating on 16 feet high waters here 😭💔 human, horses, dogs, pigs, cats, cow corpses 🐎🐕‍🦺🐖🐈‍⬛🐂 It’s an hecatomb! ⛈️😩

[@user-jc8rz2jj9r]

How horrific. So heartbreaking.