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| Randy Covey/The HSUS |
| The Cink girls with their cats. |
By Kathy Covey
Seventeen days after Coffeyville, Kan., experienced the worst flood in its history, Tammy Cink and her four daughters are barefoot playing in the grass. They have a roof over their heads and a place to sleep—the Red Cross shelter on 8th Street. Down the road at the Whittier School gym, the four-legged members of the Cink family, a dog and four cats, are also safe.
The Cink's pets are being cared for at the temporary animal shelter operated by The Humane Society of the United States Disaster Response team.
The shelter houses animals rescued from the flood zone and provides a temporary sanctuary for pets of families living in one of the Red Cross shelters in town. Often, Red Cross shelters will only allow service animals (such as Seeing Eye dogs) so nearby temporary animal shelters provide a place for displaced and rescued pets.
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| Kathy Covey/The HSUS |
| The temporary animal shelter in Coffeyville. |
The June 30 flood displaced more than 3,000 residents of this small community. Ninety-seven companion animals are cared for at the temporary shelter—dogs, cats, kittens, hamsters and even a fish. Volunteers arrive daily to keep the animals company, to clean and wash kennels, and to help others look for and ultimately claim their pets.
Even though the oily flood waters have receded from the east end of town, the Cink family can't go home. Many houses are contaminated with oil, mold and other debris after sitting in floodwaters for a week. They've been living at the Red Cross shelter since July 1.
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| Randy Covey/The HSUS |
| Homemade sign denoting a beloved pet. |
Every day, Cink and her four daughters (Shani, 14, Ashlee, 10, Selena, 8 and Sarena, 7) visit the animal shelter to spend time with their pets and the other animals residing there.
The girls brought homemade signs to put on their pets' cages; the signs let everyone know who the animals are—someone's pets.
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| Randy Covey/The HSUS |
| Thank you card from the Cink family. |
"These kids just love coming down here to see their pets and we enjoy having them here," said Mary Prewitt, Kansas state director for The HSUS. "Yesterday, they arrived with a homemade thank you card for all the staff and volunteers. It was so touching."
