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Nearly 100 animals in need of new home
A 72-year-old woman and her business partner in Daytona Beach have less than a week to find new homes for nearly 100 animals living on their property.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A 72-year-old woman and her business partner in Daytona Beach have less than a week to find new homes for nearly 100 animals living on their property.
The property, located on Beville Road, once operated as an assisted living facility under the name Compassion in Healthcare. The company allowed residents to live at the facility with their pets.
"We took their pets [in], and this helps them with boredom and loneliness and anxiety," Shoshannah Tempest said Thursday.
The company went bankrupt during the pandemic and went into foreclosure in June 2022.
The buyer is requesting Tempest and her business partner Michael Lawler vacate the property, along with the animals in their care, by Wednesday, July 19.
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"We've been blessed somehow. We've made it through, and now we're just hoping for a way out," Tempest said.
The animals in need of new homes include at least four dogs, 11 birds, 72 cats, a tortoise, and a chinchilla.
Tempest says she's tried reaching out to multiple rescue groups, but she hasn't received much help. But then came along Rebecca Lynch and her group, Poodle and Pooch Rescue.
"After I talked to her, I could not sleep that night. It weighed so heavy on my heart at being an animal lover and doing the volunteer work that I do for animals," Lynch said.
She is trying to help Tempest spread the word about her dire need for help.
"She's 72 years old, and she doesn't have anybody to help her, and everybody's turned their back on her. I just … I couldn't go on and just put it in the back of my mind. We had to do something to help," Lynch said.
Because of the nature of her organization, Lynch will help with the fostering of the four dogs, but there's not much she can do for the remaining animals.
"If there's anybody out there that has the space to help any of these animals of different breeds and sizes, that's really important right now," Lynch said.
Tempest isn't giving up.
"I will not abandon these animals, so I'm hoping someone out there will have a way to help us," she said.
If you would like to help, you can contact Poodle and Pooch Rescue as the organization is helping coordinate with Lynch to make the adoptions of her animals a success.