REAL PEOPLE/To the Rescue
‘We Got ’Em’
Retired entrepreneur and veteran Michael Merrill saves animals from disaster zones
Merrill with foster pup Maggie
DRIVING AROUND after a hurricane with 10 dogs and 17 cats in the back of a rental van has its challenges, especially when you’re the guy who’s allergic to cats. After Hurricane Florence in 2018, my then-girlfriend, Susan, and I were doing hurricane rescue missions, transporting animals from an overwhelmed shelter in North Carolina to a humane society in Georgia. A mile from the shelter, a bridge was underwater, so we made a six-hour detour there and back, eventually arriving in Georgia at five in the morning.
I didn’t always rescue animals. When I got out of the Army, I started a cellphone company, which morphed into an internet company, and later I built mobile apps. You make money, you lose money, but at the end of the day, nobody cares. Somebody was always unhappy, and often it was me. I felt like I had to do something more important with my life, so in my early 50s, I started Florida Urgent Rescue, a nonprofit animal rescue. I figured we’d help three or four shelter dogs a month. That turned into thousands of rescues, including some of the toughest cases. I feel like this is the most important thing I’ve done since I got out of the Army.
Hunting for pets in Turkey
With our team of volunteers and foster families, F.U.R. has rescued animals in 12 natural disasters. Last year, we made three trips to Ukraine, working with partners around the world to save 96 dogs and 34 cats. We also reunited people with their pets and helped refugee families evacuating with pets.
Rescuing animals after the Turkey earthquake in February was a little different. Many people weren’t allowed back into their homes, so they’d post pictures of their missing pets on the Telegram app. We’d go through the crumbling buildings and trap the cats. I can’t tell you how happy these folks were when we called to say, “We got ’em.”
Susan and I got married in 2021. We actually got married twice: once in a big ceremony for family and friends, and once with just us, our daughter and four of our dogs. —As told to David Hochman
Michael Merrill, 61, is a former U.S. Army captain and tech-company entrepreneur. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida.