Mr. Chuckles, a Shepherd mix, was one of four dogs who were recently brought from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society in Alabama to the Ulster County SPCA.

The dogs’ trip here to Kingston was part of a coordinated effort to relocate 160 dogs.

To many, it is a daunting logistical nightmare. Others, like animal advocates, have it in their muscle memory.

Tornados blew through Alabama for four straight days during the last week of March, displacing animals.

Animal advocates Best Friends coordinated the dogs’ placement from the Birmingham shelter to shelters throughout the northeastern United States.

Ulster County SPCA Executive Director Gina Carbonari points out these dogs were already in the shelter before the tornados hit Alabama. They were moved to prevent overcrowding.

“That’s why you want to move animals out of the shelters,” Carbonari said. “It leaves space for those who are going to be lost during the disaster, and enables their owners to actually come find them.”

Three dogs have been adopted out, leaving Mr. Chuckles. Carbonari’s staff have taken over Mr. Chuckles’ essential care and his anti-heartworm treatments.

Carbonari said the shelter often accepts dogs from disaster areas, usually after hurricanes. The shelter has also helped house animals from places where severely cold weather inhibited other shelters’ ability to keep all their animals safe.

The next time a disaster hits, Carbonari’s staff will be ready for the call from Best Friends, or other groups.

“We also have our own network we created with some of the direct, kind of boot-on-the-ground organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, a lot of our southern states who really face a lot of weather issues throughout the year,” she said.