By Stacy N. Hackett
Posted: June 26, 2008 2 a.m. EDT
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| A cat is rescued from a flooded Iowa garage. |
Last week, Best Friends Animal Society deployed a full animal rescue team to Oakville, Iowa, to help rescue companion animals affected by floods in the town. Best Friends sent the team in response to an official request from the State of Iowa Emergency Operations Center.
Led by rapid response manager Rich Crook, the Best Friends team is working closely with local law enforcement and the state agriculture department to rescue companion animals and help reunite cats and dogs with their owners. On Sunday, the team rescued a mother cat and her kittens from a flooded garage. “The cat was meowing loudly as we boated up,” said team member Molly Wald.
The team also retrieved a cat named George from a flooded kitchen. Relatives of the cat’s owner alerted the team to the situation, but when Best Friends arrived at the house, the cat couldn’t be found. Ethan Gurney finally found George inside one of the kitchen’s cabinets. Gurney said George looked a little “grumpy, but not too bad.” George was reunited with his thankful owner.
A frightened cat was rescued from the floodwaters after it jumped off a roof when the team approached the animal. Yet another cat — dubbed Squirrel by the rescue team — was retrieved from a tree surrounded by high waters. These cats, and other animals not yet claimed by their owners, are being held at an animal shelter about 30 miles from the flooded town.