As Florence loomed, a pet lover escaped South Carolina with 64 dogs andcats on a school bus

Over the past year, Tony Alsup, a trucker from Tennessee,has rescued shelter pets from hurricane zones in Texas, Florida, Puerto Ricoand now South Carolina.

Tony Alsup rescued Sixty-four dogs and cats from shelters in the path ofTropical Storm Florence and shipped on a school bus to a shelter in Alabama onMonday. Trucker Tony Alsup described the rescue as a calling.

Alsiup, 51, a trucker from Greenback, Tennessee, drove into South Carolinalast week to fill a school bus with dogs and cats from animal shelters in thepath of Hurricane Florence,

when the hurricane was still a few days from shore, Alsup drove his schoolbus to shelters in four South Carolina towns – North Myrtle Beach, Dylan,Georgetown and Orangeburg – loading up 53 dogs and 11 cats and busing them toan awaiting shelter in Foley, Alabama.

That was a year ago, as Hurricane Harvey was bearing down on Houston andAlsup saw a plea online for anyone who could help evaluate shelter pets out ofthe storm’s path. Alsup volunteered to transfer pets in his semi-truck. Theshelters assumed he meant he could transfer dozens of dogs, while Alsup meantthat he would carry a few in the cab of his truck.

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