On July 4, 2016, while most of the country celebrated the Fourth of July with their families and friends, the American Humane Emergency Rescue Program was called upon to help the animals who were displaced by the historic flooding that ravaged parts of West Virginia.

The deployment of emergency vehicles, a team of 10 trained emergency responders and a veterinarian came at the request of the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association, which washard-pressed to find a solution for a growing problem: The shelter had a capacity for 240 animals and was completely full – with more animals coming in each day. The animal first responders of American Humane immediately jumped into action to help rescue and care for a total of 2,200 animals who suffered from these devastating floods.

One of the animals, Jake, was especially in need of emergency care. The beautiful Golden Retriever, was rushed to American Humane’s mobile veterinary clinic by his owner who found him outside of his home in distress. His golden fur was stained red, and after further examination, the American Humane veterinarian on-site determined that Jake was bleeding from a gunshot wound at the hand of an unknown assailant, and would need emergency surgery.

With the assistance of first responders, American Humane’s veterinarian, Dr. Lesa Staubus, was able to perform intensive emergency surgery to save Jake’s life at no expense to his loving owners.

Throughout the course of the deployment in Charleston, West Virginia, the animal first responders were able to administer vaccines, donated by leading heath company Zoetis, to the thousands of displaced dogs and cats distribute 1,200 pounds of food.