Many people were worried about keeping themselves and their family members safe before hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas. That was the worry Chella Phillips had, only she had 97 other lives to care for.
Chella has operated a one-woman rescue operation for countless homeless dogs. She calls her cause Voiceless Dogs of Nassau, Bahamas and receives no government funding for her work. Every week, she hits the streets and takes in the sick and discarded animals no one else seems to want.
It was this love and compassion for dogs, that drove her to prowl the Bahama streets prior to hurricane Dorian making landfall — looking for any lost, homeless or sick dog there was. She found 97 of them.
With winds expected to be 119 mph, Chella knew that those 97 dogs didn’t stand a chance of survival out on the streets. So, she took them in.
“We have barricaded the refuge, and nobody is outside,” Chella wrote on her Facebook page as Dorian raged. “The music is playing in all directions of the house, and the AC is blowing for them.”
As the storm raged, Chella’s home became damaged, but she wasn’t worried about her furniture or electronics, she had furry lives to look after.
On the second night of the storm, Chella’s house flooded. The rain water fried her electrical systems, television, and air conditioning.
Chella and her brother slept for an hour before continuing their efforts to dry out the house and comfort the terrified dogs. Through it all, Chella remained grateful that she’d been able to rescue as many dogs as she did, but she yearned to help even more abandoned animals.
“I pray for the other islands who have unimaginable damages,” she wrote. “I don’t see how any dogs or any living being could have survived outside. My heart goes out to them.”
She is accepting donations to continue rescuing as many stray dogs from the streets of Nassau as she can.
So far, donors have raised over $100k to give to Chella for her life saving efforts.
