"A lot of these shelters, they had no water, no electricity so most of the animals were brought to Naples Humane Society and they asked us to help them," said Paula Fasseas, founder and chair of PAWS Chicago.
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At least eight staff and volunteers from PAWS, the city's largest no-kill human organization, answered the call for help.
"Everything was underwater," said Joan Harris, director of K-9 training and behavior. "We pulled over, a lot of gas stations closed."
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Harris was part of the two-van team that brought back dozens of pets in need.
"When we got there we saw lots of dogs, lots of people, everybody loading up, everybody helping. There were lots of volunteers," Harris said.
More than 40 cats and a dozen dogs rescued from three Florida shelters had a PAWS Chicago team on the ready after the nearly 24-hour road trip. They will now receive food, care and medical treatment before they find their new homes.
"I don't think we will be at a loss of people," Harris said. "These are really nice dogs, everyone I spent time with before I left, they were easy to put their collars, leashes on; very affectionate."
"We want to make sure that every animal that's gone through all this trauma is going to have a fabulous life and a really loving family for them," Fasseas said.
PAWS Chicago said its team is already planning for another trip back to Florida to bring back even more hurricane-impacted animals in need of forever homes.