The scale of devastation in southeast Texas and particularly in Jefferson and Orange counties where The HSUS is concentrating its rescue efforts is difficult to comprehend. Food is scarce, water is contaminated, the heat is oppressive, and the animals are beginning to panic. After several days of being abandoned by owners who fled the floodwaters, loveable family pets have become weary, frightened, and skittish.
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Consie Von Gontard of The HSUS feeds kittens left behind after Ike. © The HSUS/Milani |
Since Monday afternoon, HSUS teams have traveled by truck and boat, feeding hundreds of abandoned dogs and cats, and leaving each a stainless steel bowl of water.
If the animals are in otherwise good shape, their location is noted and their sustenance replenished.
If they are in distress, they are brought to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas shelter for veterinary care. On Tuesday, more than 50 animals were rescued and housed.
They included a yellow lab, chained and abandoned and teetering on a cinder block surrounded by flood waters. Her chain was cut, and she was brought to safety.
Intensive Care
A kitten, unfortunately, was not so lucky. His matted, sewage-crusted fur and ice-cold body confirmed that he was near death when rescuers came upon him. Suffering from extreme hypothermia and dehydration, the animal was in desperate need of immediate medical care.
Speeding over deserted freeways and splashing through flooded streets, the HSUS team delivered him to a veterinary clinic. He progressed well for a few hours, absorbing warmth and taking nourishment, but was too weak and died of shock.
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| The HSUS team transports a rescued dog. © The HSUS/Milani |
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"This kitten's tragic death is reminder to all of us of Hurricane Ike's deadly impact and makes our rescue mission all that much more urgent," said Melissa Rubin, vice president of field and emergency services for The HSUS.
Some 100 healthy dogs and cats were transported from the East Texas shelter to another refuge near Dallas to free up space for more rescued dogs and cats.
Two constantly jangling HSUS emergency hotlines reassured a steady stream of hurricane refugees. It's our fervent hope that they're all home safe with their pets soon.
Sept. 15, 2008
Responders Conduct Search and Rescue for Animals in Ike's Wake
Monday, as a watery dawn sun slowly illuminated an apocalyptic scene of rancid floodwaters and mountains of debris, a thin dog wandered the deserted streets of Beaumont—an oil town at the epicenter of destruction in Southeast Texas hard by the Louisiana border.
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A dog wanders the flooded streets.© The HSUS/Milani |
Scared and confused, the terrier mix—perhaps a stray, maybe a beloved pet—spotted two people and began to slink away. When they called a greeting, he slowly approached them and accepted the leash. An hour later, the lucky mutt was warm and content in a Jefferson County shelter—his hunger sated, his fear gone. One more storm victim was safe.
Three years after leading the humane response to Hurricane Katrina that rescued and cared for more than 10,000 animals, and two weeks after deploying to Louisiana to assist in Hurricane Gustav recovery, The Humane Society of the United States has returned to the Gulf Coast to care for animals evacuated or abandoned during the massive flooding caused by Hurricane Ike.
Help Descends on Texas
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Early Saturday, as Ike drew a bead on the Galveston-Houston region and roared ashore, several of the 20-member HSUS core disaster response team arrived at the Nacogdoches animal shelter some 100 miles to the north to help evacuate some 120 dogs, 50 cats, 48 horses, and a score of birds in preparation for the expected influx of refugee pets brought north to safety by their evacuee owners.
On Sunday, with recovery efforts moving into high gear, HSUS staff and volunteers in Texas began receiving calls for rescue, evacuation, and shelter of pets, farm animals, and wildlife. As the storm passed through, it quickly became apparent that Jefferson and Orange counties in the Northeast quadrant of Ike’s major impact zone were some of the hardest hit areas.
The HSUS was the first national humane organization to launch rescue and recovery operations in this stricken region. Throughout Sunday night and well into the early morning hours, our rescue workers conducted a major assessment of the inundated landscape and the needs of the animal storm victims. What they discovered was a toxic, watery wasteland.
Search and Rescue
As our teams explored the area, the humidity and stench of floodwaters rose up through the heat to greet them. HSUS trucks carefully navigated debris-strewn streets, dodging hanging power lines to reach the flood line. Once there, a rescue boat was launched for an examination of Ike’s devastation.
Waterfront docks had been ripped apart. Jet skis and boats were left awkwardly cradled in downed trees or tossed into empty streets. The air was a miasma of putrid mold and rotting vegetation.
Prominent water marks were obvious on some homes where the raging waters had begun to recede. Some had been torn from their foundations.
Nothing was as it should have been, especially for the animals. Many had been left behind, trapped alone in dark homes surrounded by water and filth. It was obvious that a major rescue effort will be needed to bring uncounted numbers to safety.
On Monday, we deployed two land and two water rescue teams, focusing on the towns of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Bridge City, and Sabine Pass.
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| Two water rescue teams set out to find stranded animals.© The HSUS/Milani |
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At the Humane Society of Southeast Texas shelter, a small and dedicated group of volunteers had scant resources to do much for the 125 animals they were caring for.
The shelter had no power, and many of the dogs seemed to be rattled and on edge after their ordeal.
Waiting to be Found
They ranged from tiny six-week-old kittens to adult cats and many mid-sized dogs.
Using a 75-foot HSUS trailer capable of housing and transporting 200 or more animals in individual prefabricated cages, responders carried the animals to new quarters to free up space for more rescued animals who began arriving Monday afternoon.
HSUS teams are expecting to bring in many more over the next few days.
“Our first large scale rescue outing begins today, so it is too early to say exactly what we will find, but we expect to do water and land rescue throughout the week,” said Scotlund Haisley, senior director of emergency services for The HSUS. “Our sheltering efforts could last longer as residents may not be allowed to return to some areas for weeks.”
Heavy equipment brought to Texas by the HSUS team includes specially-equipped vehicles and boats for land and water rescues; the live animal transporter and a mobile command and control center with satellite communications. If additional personnel are needed, dozens of HSUS staff and some 600 highly trained National Disaster Animal Response Team (NDART) volunteers are on standby.
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The specially designed animal transport vehicle was on hand to take animals to safety.© The HSUS/Milani |
When Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana two weeks ago, people with pets and service dogs proved more willing to evacuate than in previous disasters.
While some chose to remain home and ride out Hurricane Ike, early signs of a steady exodus to safer locations were encouraging.
The reasons include the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, legislation written in close co-operation with The HSUS in the wake of Katrina, and approved by Congress in 2006.
In order to qualify for federal recovery funding, cities or states must submit plans detailing their disaster preparedness programs and how they will accommodate households with pets.
In the wake of the devastation caused by a 600-mile wide storm almost as big as the Lone Star state itself, pet owners among the more than 1 million evacuees almost certainly had a more positive experience during Ike than their unfortunate counterparts in Katrina three years ago.
