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| Debra Parsons-Drake |
Southeast Regional Director Laura Bevan and her well-deserved
award. |
By Julie Hauserman
When disasters struck the southeast, Laura Bevan was there, not only rounding up lost and injured animals, but campaigning for their inclusion in disaster response planning.
It was her mission to make sure the care of animals was included in Florida's disaster plans that won her state recognition May 14. Florida officials presented The Humane Society of the United States' Southeastern regional office director with the Humanitarian Award at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference in Fort Lauderdale.
“She is at every disaster in the southeast. Everybody looks to her. We admire her,” says Beth Lockwood, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Tampa Bay, who nominated Bevan for the award. “There are not enough hours in the day for the amount of time she puts in. Because of her efforts, thousands of animals have been saved.”
According to a press release from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Bevan was chosen to receive the award because of “her exemplary leadership, dedication, and compassion in furthering disaster planning and response for animals at the local, community, and statewide levels.”
Bevan began her disaster work when Hurricane Andrew devastated Miami in 1992. After the storm hit, thousands of animals roamed loose and in need. Bevan led The HSUS response, and stayed for six weeks.
“All the exotic animals who lived down there were loose,” Bevan said. The animals included lions and tigers owned by local residents, pot-bellied pigs, a llama, horses, thousands of exotic birds and primates who had been housed in research laboratories and at the Miami port.
“It was chaos,” says Lockwood. “It was hit or miss if people got their animals back. Then, after the storm, a lot of people couldn’t keep their animals. Andrew set the stage. After Andrew, Florida set up emergency support guidelines.”
Bevan helped create a disaster animal response team for Florida—the first in the country. Today, all Florida counties are required to have a hurricane plan that includes animal response.
In the summer of 2004, four hurricanes hit the state and “we ran from one side of the state to the other like ping-pong balls” caring for lost, injured and traumatized animals, Bevan recalls.
Aside from her on-the-ground emergency work, Bevan continually pushes to arrange for more pet-friendly shelters in community disaster response plans. Too many evacuees, she says, have to leave their beloved pets behind when they flee a storm.
“I’m honored,” Bevan says of the Humanitarian Award. “And I’m proud that Florida has recognized the need for including animal care in disaster planning.”
