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John Hollenhorst ReportingHundreds of dogs and cats arrived in Southern Utah today after a long-distance rescue operation from Lebanon's war zone. The pets from Beirut are waiting for permanent adoption.
It's the latest mass animal rescue by a Southern Utah organization that's beginning to draw attention and lots of dollars by playing on a world stage. A year ago they rescued 6000 dogs and cats from Hurricane Katrina. Now there are 300 more, rescued from the war against Hezbollah.
In spite of all the barking and meowing, this place is downright peaceful, compared to what these dogs and cats have been through.
Michelle Besmehn, Best Friends Animal Society: "They're amazing. They're resilient."
Instead of bombs and gunfire, they now have the relative quiet of the Utah desert.
Michael Mountain, President, Best Friends Animal Society: "They're all going to go to good new homes around the country."
Yesterday they were loaded on a plane in Beirut, Lebanon, recently ground-zero in Israel's war on Hezbollah. For weeks, staffers from Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary have been combing bombed neighborhoods, helping Lebanese volunteers rescue abandoned animals.
Michelle Besmehn, Dog Care Manager, Best Friends Animal Society: "They're living on the streets, scavenging for food with very little hopes of finding a home."
Michael Mountain: "They were just very scared and very spooked, but they really got over that."
The cost of the operation is about a quarter of a million dollars. Donors have already coughed up most of the money. Best Friends has had extraordinary success raising money in recent years, now over 20 million a year. These highly publicized rescues won't hurt. They hope publicity will prompt people to adopt the animals.
Michael Mountain: "They're just the sweetest friendliest animals. They're all in good health. And we think that when people learn what they're all the troubles they've been through and all the difficulties, they'll want to take them into their homes."
A lot of people have already contacted Best Friends hoping to adopt. They welcome many more applicants from good homes.
