A plane crash in Wisconsin had a happy ending this week after all three people and 53 dogs on board survived.
The twin-engine plane crashed Tuesday on a golf course in Waukesha County, Wis., with its wings completely torn off as it plunged through trees, CBS News reported.
“This was a relatively catastrophic landing,” Lake Country Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Matthew Haerter said at a news conference. The cause of the accident, which occurred in conditions of heavy snow, is under investigation.
The plane was flying from New Orleans to transport dozens of dogs from overcrowded animal shelters in southern states to Wisconsin, where they could more easily find homes.
The three people on board and some of the dogs suffered minor injuries. The animals are doing “very well,” Maggie Tate-Techtmann, director of organizational development at the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Some are already having fun in the snow and on the road to finding their forever homes,” he said.
However, Tate-Techtmann told BuzzFeed News that shelter workers aren’t yet sure how the incident might affect the behavior of some of the dogs.
Twenty-one of the animals were taken in by the Waukesha Humane Society, with the rest headed to the Jefferson County Humane Society, the Sheboygan County Humane Society and the Washington County Humane Society.
Many of the dogs are now available for adoption and some have already found new homes.
At least three dogs returned home with first responders after the plane went down, reports Fox6 News in Milwaukee. Firefighter Elle Steitzer welcomed a puppy named Lucky into her home. Assistant Fire Chief Tony Wasielewski adopted a dog named Marley, who jumped into his arms after the accident. Meanwhile, firefighter and paramedic Amber Christian brought home a puppy named Artemis, who was crawling on her lap.
“It just fell into my lap and that was it,” Christian told the news station. “He is the chosen one.”
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