By now, it’s no surprise that Hurricane Irma did quite a number on Florida after hitting the Caribbean. Even if you believe that man-made climate change isn’t real, it is very obvious that the climate is changing and not for the better. Storms are getting stronger and even the temperature fluctuates on a daily basis. People joke about Ohio being able to have all four seasons in a week, but now it’s not so funny because it’s happening everywhere. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never experienced a hurricane like they have in Florida or Texas, but what surprised me the most about Irma was how many people left their pets behind; some were even chained or kept in cages while they evacuated.
I don’t think I could ever leave my pets behind because they’re part of my family. I’m serious; we even get them all together for our family photos when we have relatives over for the holidays. I also couldn’t imagine leaving them behind because that seems inhumane and cruel. According to WPTV, the people of Palm Beach County could face felony charges for leaving their animals behind. Dave Aronberg, the state prosecutor for Palm Beach County reported to Good Housekeeping, “This is a prime example of animal cruelty… We will find you, and we will prosecute you.”
I couldn’t be happier that these animals are getting the justice they deserve. After all, we see across Twitter those, “We don’t deserve dogs,” tweets. And still, we see all over the news how sad the dogs look when they’re chained up outside. So shout-out to you, Dave Aronberg, for not letting people get away with something like this.
On a more positive note, the pets that were left behind and rescued, and that were taken to the animal shelters, are now being sent to other shelters across the US and being put up for adoption so they may find their forever home.