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Woman in The Bahamas saves 97 dogs from hurricane
Knowing these dogs would have no chance of surviving she opened her doors to them doing everything in her power to save them, despite being outnumbered.
Kristin Danley-Greiner
09.11.19

Hurricane Dorian left a shocking path of destruction in its wake. Rescue and recovery teams have confirmed at least 45 residents of the Bahamas are deceased with hundreds more missing. Thousands upon thousands of people are homeless.

There’s no power. No running water. No food. No shelter. Nothing.

Flickr/Heart to Heart International
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Flickr/Heart to Heart International

It’s a vast wasteland of smashed buildings and injured, frightened and desolate residents. Some have described the Grand Bahamas as resembling a war zone.

But it’s not just the people living on the Bahamas that need help. So many pets took off when the hurricane struck. As it spun for two days over the island, owners were separated from their four-legged friends. There was no way the animals would have survived such a traumatizing ordeal if it weren’t for people like Chella Phillips.

Flickr/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Flickr/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Phillips lives on Nassau and announced ahead of the storm’s arrival that she’d care for anyone’s pet who needed her help, since her area wasn’t in the direct path of the hurricane. She ended up with 97 dogs, 79 of them hanging out in her master bedroom, she shared on Facebook. They holed up at her refuge and home that she runs with her brother.

“It has been insane since last night, poop and piss non stop, but at least they are respecting my bed and nobody has dared to jump in. We have barricaded the refuge and nobody is outside, the music is playing in all directions of the house and the AC is blowing for them. I managed to bring some less fortunate ones and I really appreciate some of you donating for crates. I really needed it for the scared ones and the sick ones.”

Facebook/Chella Phillips
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Facebook/Chella Phillips

The islands already have a lot of homeless dogs, she said, and she worried about those who had nowhere to go to hide from the category five hurricane.

“Only God can protect them now.”

Even though almost 100 dogs were squeezed into her home, there were no snips and growls going on among the strange dogs. She said it was as if they knew they were all suffering together as the storm passed by and rushing floodwater threatened their safety.

“The wind sounded like a train that wouldn’t pass, it was so loud, water was coming in through the seams on the windows and underneath the doors, the dogs were scared. I tried to play with them, sing to them, gave them every last treat just to keep their minds off all the noise of the hurricane.”

Facebook/Chella Phillips
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Facebook/Chella Phillips

It was a true miracle that Chella and the dogs survived.

Chella isn’t a stranger to rescuing pups. She manages the Voiceless Dogs of Nassau, a group dedicated to saving the island’s stray dogs.

But because of the hurricane’s damage, Chella and the dogs she rescued aren’t out of the woods yet. Their infrastructure was damaged and supplies have dwindled.

But people around the world have stepped up to help Chella by contributed money to her cause through her donation page.

Facebook/Chella Phillips
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Facebook/Chella Phillips
She couldn’t believe the outpouring of support complete strangers have shown her and the dogs.
“I don’t even know what to say, how to thank you. Your love, words, donations are keeping me alive, giving me hope and I want you to know, that no matter how much is raised, every nickel will go to saving dogs’ lives.”
Facebook/Chella Phillips
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Facebook/Chella Phillips

Chella shared an update on Facebook about their dire situation.

“We are alright after a stressful night where we flooded bad inside the refuge, not even 3 pumps could contain the rain from washing us inside and after an hour all 3 pumps reheated and burned down and we have been outside with buckets fighting a losing battle. All services are down, all TVs are fried from the lightning, so no more cartoons for the sick dogs until we can purchase new ones. My brother slept an hour, I had been on my feet without any sleep drying the house and looking after my terrified dogs. I pray for the other islands who have unimaginable damages and I don’t see how any dogs or any living being could have survived outside. My heart goes out to them.”

What an absolutely incredible gesture Chella made to protect all of those helpless dogs! The looks on those dogs’ faces says it all.

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