Severe storms rolling through North Texas in April and May brought rain, hail and an EF3 tornado that left neighborhoods flooded and trees and buildings leveled. On May 25 – Memorial Day weekend – more than 500,000 households lost power, seven people died and over 200 homes and businesses were impacted, including All American Dogs, an animal shelter in Denton County.

The following day, the ASPCA National Field Response and Relocation and Placement teams deployed to Texas to provide disaster relief for All American Dogs. Within days, we flew nearly 50 dogs from the shelter to our Cruelty Recovery Center in Ohio, where the dogs were put up for adoption or transferred to placement partners to be adopted.

But that is only half of the story. Despite their name, All American Dogs also serves cats. In a separate operation, our Relocation and Placement team loaded 60 cats on a flight to Ohio on June 7, bringing the total of animals transported by the ASPCA from Denton County to 110. One of those cats was Leo, a year-old adult male tabby.

Finding ‘Breathing Room’ after Storms

As of mid-October 2024, we have deployed to nine disasters in seven unique states, according to Susan Anderson, the ASPCA’s director of disaster response. Most recently, we assisted organizations in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“Starting in late April, counties in North Texas experienced a series of severe storms that caused significant tornado, wind and flood damage,” says Susan. “The communities served by All American Dogs were impacted by the May 25 tornado, and heavy rains caused flooding at the animal shelter itself. When we learned dogs were standing in belly-deep water in their kennels, we knew we had to act quickly.”

Leo is loaded onto a plane bound for Ohio.

Following the storms, All American Dogs (AAD) supported displaced animals despite one of their buildings sustaining damage and becoming non-operational for the next several months.

“Thanks to the ASPCA, we had breathing room to safely house and keep 20 dogs rescued after storms, so they had a chance to be reclaimed,” says All American Dogs manager Alex 'A.J.' Johnston. “Of those 20 dogs, 18 – 90% – were either reclaimed by their owners or adopted; two were lost to canine parvovirus.”

A.J. adds that the evacuation of animals was AAD’s first in 14 years of operation, and they held dogs for people whose homes were demolished, providing those animals with medical and daily care as well.

Shelter Partners Step Up

“The impact of our hands-on care is amplified through our collaboration with shelters like the Greenville Humane Society,” says the ASPCA’s Jessica Rushin, senior director of Placement. “After disaster strikes, the ASPCA rescues animals, but we don’t do it alone. Our incredible partners step up when it matters most by providing animals like Ziv with the opportunity to find a loving home.”

Greenville Humane Society takes in about 1,400 animals like Ziv from partner organizations each year, including from the ASPCA, according to Courtney Granger, Greenville Humane Society’s Adoption Center operations manager. An ASPCA Placement Partner since 2023, Greenville Humane Society has taken in nearly 100 animals.

As of November 30, our Relocation team has transported more than 370 animals out of disaster zones.

‘Tornado Cat’

Courtney called Leo ‘tornado cat’ since he was so active and playful. She told potential adopters if they wanted a dog in a cat’s body, it was Ziv. His adopters, Kendall and Justin, happened to be looking for just that.

“He’s a puppy, a kitten and a teenager rolled into one,” says Justin, adding that he and Kendall take Ziv for walks in a harness. “He loves our screened-in porch, playing with spring toys, lounging in boxes and bags and looking at the window watching cars go by.”

Kendall, a Greenville Humane Society volunteer, met Ziv during one of her shifts and convinced Justin to meet him.

“We weren’t looking for a pet, although I had a cat and Justin had a dog before we got married,” Kendall says.

The couple fostered Ziv for about a week and adopted him on September 1. Ziv is now known as Chewbacca, or Chewie.

“He reminds us of the ‘Star Wars’ character,” says Kendall. “And I don’t think he chews his food.”

“He went from a stray cat to a beloved pet,” A.J. from All American Dogs comments. “It makes it worth all the effort knowing animals like him found homes.”