AT the time of writing, Hurricane Dorian is battering the Bahamas and has been doing so for the past three days.
It's the most powerful storm to have hit the Bahamas since records began, and thus far, five people are reported to have been killed by the extreme weather.
On Tuesday, it was downgraded from a Category five storm to a Category three, but major risks of catastrophic winds and life-threatening floods have kept the island, its people, and indeed its animals on tenterhooks.
While efforts are being made to provide assistance, support and shelter to the people of the Bahamas, Chella Phillips, who lives in the national capital of Nassau, has made efforts to ensure that the same is being done for dogs.
Chella has opened up her home to 97 dogs who have either lost their homes or have been abandoned during the storm.
“It was either leave the dogs on the street to fend for themselves...or do something about it,” Chella told ABC News.
“I just want these dogs to be safe. I could care less about the dog poop and pee in my house.”
On Sunday, she took to Facebook to present photos of her home, which is now totally overrun with pooches, who I'm sure are extremely happy to be out of the wind and rain.
"97 dogs are inside my house and 79 of them are inside my master bedroom.
It has been insane since lastnight, poop and piss non stop but at least they are respecting my bed and nobody has dared to jump in," Chella wrote.
"I managed to bring some less fortunate ones and I really appreciate some of you donating for crates.. I really needed it for the scared ones and the sick ones. so Thank you!"
She went on to mention that she's barricaded access to the garden so none of the dogs could get outside, and added that the air-conditioning was keeping them all cool, despite the cosy living quarters.
"Each island has abundance of homeless dogs, my heart is so broken for the ones without a place to hide a CAT 5 monster and only God can protect them now," she continued.
On Monday, she posted another update after her neighbourhood had experienced some flooding, confirming that the dogs were still safe.
"We are alright after a stressful night. All services are down, all TVs are fried from the lightnings so no more cartoons for the sick dogs until we can purchase new ones," she said.
"I don't see how any dogs or any living being could have survived outside."
Chella, originally from Peru has spent 15 years saving nearly 1,000 homeless dogs in the Bahamas. She says she plans to create more space for the dogs once the storm has passed.
