Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse in Tennessee, they did. Big Fluffy Dogs, a Nashville-based rescue, took in 14 dogs from a hoarder situation a couple of weeks ago. They were still struggling with this when the torrential rains and flooding hit this week. In a flooding situation so bad, it has been compared to the devastation wreaked by Katrina, many wonder what has happened to the animals. Similarly to Katrina, flood evacuees were not allowed to bring their animals to shelters. Yet flooded neighborhoods appear to be devoid of cats and dogs. In the aftermath, there is ominous silence.
Ironically, May 2 - 8 is National Pet Week, whose purpose is to promote responsible pet ownership and celebrate the human-animal bond. For those who have lost their pets or are homeless and have to make some hard decisions about their pets, this week is going to be very difficult and not a celebration at all.
Tennessee has always presented one of the toughest challenges for Great Pyrenees rescue efforts. It ranks in the top five states for Pyr rescue activity along with Kentucky, Georgia, Missouri and Texas. 
As one of the deadliest “hot spots” for Pyrs, the only road to survival for many of these dogs is the route out of Tennessee. National Great Pyrenees Rescue has been dedicated from the very beginning to getting Pyrs and Pyr mixes out of Tennessee and other hot spots so they can find safety in places where they are wanted.
This week you can add to the thousands of dogs who crowd Tennessee shelters, hundreds more who have been abandoned or displaced by the flooding and have no where to go. It’s the perfect storm of rescue. Euthanasia is already a fact of life (or aptly death) in these shelters where there wasn’t any room to begin with. And now there are more dogs.
Pyrs used as livestock guardian dogs in rural areas may be particularly susceptible to the aftermath of the flood. With their flocks drowned and their owners livelihoods compromised, the dogs will be abandoned as well. We saw this type of abandonment during the drought that affected this area a couple of years ago and there is no reason to believe that things have changed.
National Great Pyrenees Rescue urges anyone who can, to donate to Big Fluffy Dogs’ fund for flood relief. Fosters for Pyrs and Pyr mixes will be needed desperately as well in the weeks to come. Please let us at National Pyr or Big Fluffy Dogs know if you can foster. Big Fluffy Dogs will be posting updates regularly on their website. As of this morning, 18 calls had been received about Pyrs-in-need due to the flooding. This is not a short term situation that will dissipate with the flood waters. Rescue will be feeling the effects for a long, long time. We’d like to hear from you if you can help make a bad situation better. We thank you and the dogs thank you.