Cats and Dogs Lose Space to Hurricane

Long Islanders are not the only ones who are recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy -- the storm affected the cats and dogs of Little Shelter, too. 

No animal was injured, Kathy Riccoboni, volunteer coordinator at Little Shelter, said. But four of the 18 trees that came down at the 85-year-old no-kill animal shelter off Warner Road in Huntington caused damage: one of the kennels has a punctured hole in the roof, the back porch of the cattery is broken apart, the roof of the back pen came off and is being temporarily covered and the fencing around the property was destroyed.

"We had staff that stayed here," Riccoboni said. "As soon as the trees
came down, we were able to relocate them."

In an effort to establish a quick recovery, Little Shelter, which has six acres of property, has been asking for help, and the community has quickly responded.

With the help of the community and volunteers, the shelter has already had the trees removed and chopped up, although the areas are still unusable. Dogs are allowed in the safer parts of the damaged kennel for fresh air during the day and then moved for the night. The cats are not allowed near the back porch of the cattery, though when they look out of the window of the back of the cattery, they can see cut up trees piled one over the other.

Aside from food and monetary donations, community members have offered to foster some of the animals in the shelter as well.

The shelter is currently waiting on insurance to see how much can be covered, and the damages may not be fully resolved for a few months.    

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