Hurricanes Helene and Milton wreaked havoc on the Southern United States, displacing millions of people and shelter pets. Because the hurricanes posed such significant threats of devastation, shelters took action and moved many animals to safety. Southwest Airlines Captain Matt Prebish helped transport many cats from Tennessee and Florida.
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One Shelter Pet in Particular Pulled At The Pilot’s Heartstrings
The pilot told Good Morning America he helped move 145 shelter pets from Tennessee and Florida to safe places around the country. Southwest paired up with Great Good Charities and Lucky Dog Animal Rescue to help make the transports possible.
“We had probably 60 people supporting in one way or another to help make this flight happen. And it went really well,” Matt told GMA.
While he flew, Matt was all business. He knew that he had to get the shelter pets to safety, so he didn’t particularly pay attention until he landed.
“Once we landed in Milwaukee, [I] started to notice the animals a little bit more,” he said. One of them caught my attention and then [I] ended up taking a cat home.”
Matt brought his new Kitten, Avery, home to Texas, where she joins his other cat, Smalls, and his dogs, Tahoe and Wrigley.
“Avery, she’s inquisitive,” he said. “I opened the crate up a little bit to kind of let her see if she would really come out. And immediately, her head popped out, and she was just looking around, and she’s just had this personality that she wants to explore the world and just see everything that the world has to offer.”
Matt takes pride in his work and loves working for Southwest Airlines.
“Southwest takes care of people and animals at the end of the day. There’s been a lot of people and animals that are going through some difficult times. And anything that any of us can do to help, whether it be a donation or a donation of time or a donation of skills or adopting an animal, any little bit helps, and we all should do what we can to just contribute in whatever way we can,” he told GMA.
This story’s featured image is by Kevin Carter/Getty Images.
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