Inside a makeshift shelter saving hundreds of dogs from floods in southern Brazil

CANOAS, Brazil (AP) — Hundreds of volunteers have set up a makeshift dog shelter in an abandoned, roofless warehouse in the city of Canoas, one of the hardest hit by floods in southern Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state.

They treat and feed sick, hungry or injured dogs, hoping to reunite them with their owners, and they were working at full speed Friday morning as renewed heavy rains are forecast in the region over the weekend.

Authorities say more than 110 people have died, almost 150 are missing, and more than 300,000 people have been displaced by the floods. There is no official tally for the number of animals that have died or are made homeless. Local media estimated the number to be in the thousands.

The makeshift shelter, about the size of a soccer field, has taken in hundreds of canines from inundated areas since Sunday. Every hour between 20 and 30 dogs arrive, many injured after having been run over or nearly drowned. The shelter sends some to veterinary hospitals, but others that are in need of medical attention are too frail to be transported. Dog food is scattered throughout the facility, and dogs are chained at distances from one another to prevent fighting.