By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — It is the hope of the Brandywine Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that the big numbers of current adoptions will continue.

Monday afternoon, the latest Wings of Rescue flight touched down at the Delaware Coastal Airport, bringing 95 displaced dogs from a winter storm-ravaged shelter in Texas on a mission to find forever homes.

The emergency intake Monday brings the total number of animals rescued by the BVSPCA in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri to more than 270 in the past 10 days.

And, of the previous weekend’s 125 intakes from Texas, 115 cats and dogs had found homes through adoption as of Monday.

“It has been a tremendous effort from the community to support our work, to support shelter animals and really just continue to save lives,” said Walt Fenstermacher, BVSPCA’s director of operations. “We received dogs of all different shapes, sizes, ages and breeds, and it has been really fantastic to be able (to) help out all of these animals.”

One by one, carriers containing often frightened, confused canines were offloaded, placed in vans or a trailer and taken to the BVSPCA’s Animal Rescue Center for evaluation and medical care, if needed.

These dogs should be available for adoption at the BVSPCA’s Delaware campuses in Dover, Georgetown and New Castle sometime this week, Mr. Fenstermacher said. For updates on adoption availability, visit the BVSPCA website.

Offering helping hands in the delivery were BVSPCA staff, its regular corps of volunteers and several rookies.

“I love pets. I have two dogs at home,” said Lewes resident Shirley Kratz, whose volunteerism brought her to the airport. “It’s a great program.”

It was the first time assisting with rescue unloading for Dover resident Trey Thompson, who volunteers weekly at BVSPCA’s Dover campus on Horsepond Road.

“I volunteer at Dover quite often. I started volunteering in like November. I am trying to lend a helping hand when I can,” said Mr. Thompson. “When I come in three or four days a week to go volunteer — you get used to knowing some of them — but when they are (adopted), it’s always a good feeling that they finally found their place to be.”

The dogs on Monday’s Wings of Rescue flight, supported by the Petco Foundation, came from the Palm Valley Animal Society, a high-intake shelter in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas.

“They’ve obviously experienced extreme hardship. They’ve been without water, without power (at) the Texas shelter, that really has been struck hard by that winter storm,” Mr. Fenstermacher said. “We work with Wings of Rescue and the Petco Foundation. They really allow us to connect with the shelters in need.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been immense regional interest in adoption, as BVSPCA’s success rate shows.

“There is no better companionship than what a pet can give you. That unconditional love is something that people look for, and everyone is going through a really hard time with the pandemic. So I think that really speaks volumes. People are coming out to adopt and add a furry friend to their lives,” said Mr. Fenstermacher.

“The animals really give unconditional love. They also promote a healthy lifestyle. They are a stress reliever, but then also, just having a routine to get into for walking them and feeding them can be a really healthy addition to anyone’s lifestyle,” he added.

Along with adoption and volunteering, the BVSPCA welcomes financial support.

“These flights cost tens of thousands of dollars to save these lives,” said Mr. Fenstermacher. “Any financial donation to support this work is tremendously appreciated and will really just allow us to continue to save these lives.”