At the Bishop Animal Shelter in Bradenton, new arrivals like Petey and Joan of Arc wag their tails and enthusiastically greet visitors and potential new family members.
The dogs are among the dozens of animals from a shelter in Martin County that have been transported across the state to one in Manatee County.
Three vans filled with 42 dogs, cats and rabbits arrived in Bradenton Friday afternoon.
Areas of Martin County, which is just south of Port St. Lucie, are under a mandatory evacuation order ahead of Hurricane Dorian. With the transfer, the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast has more room for animals of residents and first responders in the path of the storm.
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"We knew that Dorian wasn't going to affect us as much, it was going to affect the east coast so we were happy to take in more animals,” said Emily Bach of the Bishop Animal Shelter.
But, she added, the Bradenton facility is now pushing the limits of capacity, so all of the animals are already available to new homes.
"As it is right now, we do have a lot of dogs who are in crates in hallways,” she said. “So we're looking to have people come in and adopt and foster so we can open up those kennels and get more dogs in the kennels."
Plenty of folks came to the shelter on Labor Day to take a look at the new arrivals.
A dog named Max quickly found a foster mom.
6-year-old Penny Cole came to the shelter with her family to look for a new pet. She eventually decided on taking home a white bunny.
"Because he's cute and fluffy,” she said of why she chose this rabbit out of all the others. And, she added, his new name will be Stormy.
You can see the animals up for adoption at the Bishop Animal Shelter here.
