Animals have the same instincts as people when heavy weather hangs over our heads: find a safe place to ride out the storm. Anyone who's seen a kitty wedge himself behind the stereo system during a tornado understands this basic animal behavior. Yet pets and humans appear to have drastically different instincts telling them when the coast is clear.

Case in point: The aftermath of Hurricane Charley in southwest Florida. Even before the last raindrop drop fell on Friday, August 13, humans were already busy assessing damage, commiserating with each other, and deciding whether to rebuild their lives in the Sunshine State. Animals, on the other hand, generally stayed put wherever they were, not knowing if Charley had similarly vicious friends.

The many Disaster Animal Rescue Teams (DART) in Florida understood this phenomenon. That's why, even though The HSUS's Carmelita Animal Compound in Punta Gorda began taking in homeless, injured and surrendered animals late Monday morning—just two and a half days after Charley cut his swath through this predominantly older community—we weren't expecting a deluge of animals until a day or two later.

The early returns would seem to confirm our prediction. On Monday, about 30 animals were processed at the Carmelita compound (and then moved to the Suncoast Humane Society in Englewood, which has cleared space for Charley's four-legged victims), and another 50 were handled on Tuesday, including raccoons and a squirrel. But by Friday evening, August 20, the numbers had swelled considerably: More than 400 animals had been run through the compound, spanning the animal spectrum from dogs and cats to cockatiels and raccoons.

And that doesn't even include the countless number of animals assisted in the field, whether providing water to dehydrated horses on small farms or pet food to those owners who couldn't make it to the Punta Gorda facility.

"The numbers keep rising because the animals keep emerging. They emerge when they finally get hungry enough or when they get dehydrated from the 90-degree-plus heat here," says Laura Bevan, who's leading the charge for The HSUS's DART teams in southwest Florida. "And the residents have been amazing. They have rounded up countless animals and brought them to our compound. But at the same time, we have also been working overtime to get the word out that our Punta Gorda facility is open and that we're the point of entry for all stray, lost and injured animals. The public has clearly heeded the call."

The Facility

To call the Carmelita Animal Compound "makeshift" would be a disservice. The facility may be temporary, but it's state of the art, thanks to an HSUS-affiliated DART team member from Sumter County who owns a prosthetics research company that, among other things, designs products for lame horses. The owner sent down three large vehicles, including an air-conditioned RV and a 30-foot semi trailer.

DART team members organized the vehicles into a U shape and set up a tent at the base of the U, where all animals are processed. Each animal, if appropriate, is scanned for microchips and identified with as much information as possible: location where animal was found, breed, age, distinguishing marks. Those animals surrendered for adoption require even more information from the owners, so that future guardians can have a clear understanding of their new pet.

On an outside arm of the U, Pinellas County Animal Services parked its mobile veterinary clinic, where each animal is assessed and treated as necessary. Pinellas County also brought along a former Federal Emergency Management Trailer, which sleeps eight.

The U is the hub for animal rescues in Charlotte County, which was the focal point of Charley's fury. The county's animal control has set up a dispatch center in one of the trailers, where incoming calls are logged and processed. Dispatch will coordinate with Melissa Forberg, a disaster consultant for The HSUS, and she will send out teams into the fields to handle the emergencies. There are two to four people per team, Forberg said, mixing both Charlotte County Animal Control officers and DART team members.

"We send out larger teams because the conditions are dangerous," Forberg said on Wednesday. "There's not only a lot of debris out there, but there are also looters."

The Stories

In nearly five days of operation, the Carmelita Animal Compound has already chalked up a few success stories.

• A Labrador mix was brought into the compound after someone found the pooch pinned under a collapsed house. It's not clear how long the dog was trapped, but veterinarians quickly determined that the debris had only pinned one of his paws. They treated the injured appendage and expect the animal to make a full recovery.

• An area resident had noticed a yellow Labrador rummaging through the garbage in her neighborhood. She decided to let the animal be, but when the pooch continued raiding the refuse, she opted to round up the Lab and bring him to the compound. It's a good thing she did. The dog had internal bleeding, likely from his unhealthy diet. The prognosis is good for the Labrador with the bad lunch habits.

• A young bear was found wandering the streets of a Punta Gorda subdivision, miles from the nearest place the animal would call home. DART team member Lloyd Brown, who's trained in these matters, tranquilized the bear, who was then put in a cage and monitored until Florida state wildlife officials could arrive. State officials have since taken the wayward bear to a wildlife preserve, where he will no doubt feel more at home.

• Potable water is a serious problem in Charlotte County. The hurricane has contaminated much of the drinking water. Understanding how this dearth of drinkable water could effect rural horse farms, which dot the landscape in the outlying regions, The HSUS secured two large containers called "water buffaloes." One holds 600 gallons of water, the other 1,000. DART teams use the containers to fill a smaller, 4-wheel trailer that carries 250 gallons of water. Then they go visit the horse farms, spreading water that's as precious as gold to those dehydrated animals. (The teams are also, incidentally, bringing the farmers hay, since food is also hard to secure.)

• In the strange-but-true category, one middle-aged Punta Gorda resident had eight sled dogs on her property in this tropical enclave. She apparently trains them on wheeled carts before the pooches head to more northern climes for the real thing. Charley ensured that the trainer won't be working anytime soon. The hurricane leveled her home, leaving her with nowhere to care for her well-maintained dogs. She opted to ask the DART teams to secure the animals a foster home until she can get back on her feet.

• On Friday, August 20, workers at the Punta Gorda facility got a small taste of what their work is all about. A local woman whose home was badly damaged couldn't find her dogs. She showed up at the compound and discovered two of them there, a mother and her young puppy. The mother, a Lab mix, had been brought in by animal control, while the puppy, a rottweiler mix, was brought in by a resident. Nobody at the compound realized the dogs were related, but the owner did. "She was kissing and hugging everybody," said Diane Webber, director of The HSUS's Midwest Regional Office, who's now handling public information out of Punta Gorda.

Beyond Charlotte

Even though DART teams have essentially wrapped up their assessments in Charlotte County, they continue to patrol hard-hit neighborhoods, searching for strays and stopping to talk to neighbors who often provide the best information on animals in distress.

But Florida DART teams have also expanded beyond Charlotte County, venturing into DeSoto and Hardee counties just to the north. Both areas suffered huge losses from the storm, and the main animal shelters in both counties were damaged. In fact, the DeSoto shelter was apparently destroyed, though it reportedly continues to operate without a roof. DART members report that DeSoto and Hardee residents desperately need food, water and shelter space for their animals, all of which is in short supply.

Some local humane organizations have already started to lend a hand to these stricken counties, but it doesn't look to be enough.

"We're looking at mobilizing some of the resources in Charlotte to these counties," said The HSUS's Bevan. "We're hearing that nearly 40% of the people in both counties may have lost their homes. If the owners have no place to sleep, neither do the animals. And since this is a mostly rural area, there are a good number of horse issues to deal with. We need to help address these situations, and we will."

If you'd like to donate to The HSUS's disaster relief efforts, both in Florida and elsewhere, please click here.