Hurricane Sandy dog "Cookie" goes to her new home - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com

RANCHO SANTA FE (CNS) - A dog that was left stranded by Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast and later flown to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe was adopted Monday, the first of the 50 storm-affected dogs and cats brought to the center to find a new home.

Cookie, a 5-year-old beagle mix, was adopted by retired Sacramento police officers Clem and Pamela Westerman.

The station reported that the couple was at Disneyland when they saw a photograph of the beagle and decided they had to visit the center, because they always had the breed as a pet.

"If this beagle is available, we're gonna get her, that's it," Pamela Westerman said about her thinking at the time.

Several shelters on the East Coast sent their dogs and cats west when the facilities were rendered uninhabitable by the destructive storm, which made landfall in New Jersey Oct. 29. Southwest Airlines provided flights for the animals, which were chaperoned by SeaWorld staff, according to the center.

Iams is providing a one-year supply of dog food to the Westermans, who have another beagle and a cat at home.

Another dozen or so of the animals rescued from the storm are also available for adoption.