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Dog lived in shelter ‘demolished’ by hurricane. Now she has new home, Florida rescue says

Moka the dog found a new home after she was in a “makeshift facility,” rescuers said.
Moka the dog found a new home after she was in a “makeshift facility,” rescuers said. Screengrab from Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida-District 8 Pasco,Pinellas,Hernando on Facebook

A dog was living in a shelter when a hurricane “demolished” it, “leaving her in a small crate in a makeshift facility,” a Florida rescue organization said.

But now, more than a month after the destruction from Hurricane Idalia, the dog has a new home, according to Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida’s eighth district.

Moka the dog was found as a stray and started living at a shelter. But after Hurricane Idalia left her with a temporary home, the animal rescue organization said it stepped in.

“The shelter staff reached out to our volunteers to help Moka,” the rescue wrote Oct. 2 on Facebook as it shared photos of people who helped the 2-year-old chocolate lab while she waited for a permanent home.

Then on Oct. 10, the organization announced that Moka had been adopted. Dozens of Facebook users reacted to the post, and several said they were thrilled about the update.

Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida’s District 8 is a foster-based program that serves the Gulf Coast counties of Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas, near Tampa.

Hurricane Idalia hit towns to the north of that region particularly hard after it made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida’s Big Bend on Aug. 30. The deadly hurricane battered the state with storm surge and strong winds, the Miami Herald reported.

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This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 6:41 AM with the headline "Dog lived in shelter ‘demolished’ by hurricane. Now she has new home, Florida rescue says."

Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
Simone Jasper is a service journalism reporter at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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