Sheltering Teams Work to Help Pets Displaced by Ike

Search and rescue teams with the International Fund for Animal Welfare work 12-hour shifts to rescue cats, dogs and other animals displaced by Hurricane Ike.

Animal response teams are working 12-hour shifts to provide help and security to the dogs, cats and other animals displaced by Hurricane Ike, according to search and rescue team members representing International Fund for Animal Welfare.

IFAW Emergency Rescue team member Mike Booth was at the scene in Lake Charles, La., and said teams arrived just in time to rescue pets and other animals. Many of them are now safe in the Calcasieu Animal Control Shelter.

IFAW is the designated water operations search and rescue team in Calcasieu Parish, La. “There is significant flooding in the area and local residents said they haven’t seen this degree of damage in more than 50 or 80 years, more so than with Katrina or Rita,” Booth said.

The rescue team mobilized Tuesday to Beaumont, Texas, where they expect to help out with animal sheltering operations, along with various other organizations. Shelters in Austin have cared for 200 dogs, 60 cats and 55 other animals, including birds, guinea pigs and turtles, according to IFAW, and as some owners and their animals head home, the Texas State Emergency Operations Center gradually is consolidating shelters.

Animal response to Hurricane Ike continues to be a team effort, as the issues are much larger than the resources of one agency, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission.

The TAHC has sourced pet cages from Louisiana to boost the local sheltering capacity. Early estimates from shelters providing reports show that 1,200 small animals were provided emergency refuge. This does not include persons sheltering their pets in temporary housing, or individuals providing sheltering space.

Also assisting with relief efforts is the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, which arrived Monday morning with its Disaster Animal Response Team to Houston, per the request of state authorities. The team will provide temporary shelter and frontline veterinary care to the animal victims of Hurricane Ike.

“Very often, our pets are what keep us going in times of crisis,” said Madeline Bernstein, spcaLA president. “DART not only provides for animals, but allows their owners to breathe a sigh of relief knowing there are professionals out there looking after the safety of their pets.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, Petsmart Charities is among the organizations looking out for displaced animals. An Emergency Relief Waggin’ stocked with 16 tons of supplies was sent to one of the hardest-hit areas of Southeast Texas.

The 53-foot trailer is loaded with 26 pallets of pet supplies and emergency relief equipment for rescuers and caregivers and bound for the Humane Society of Southeast Texas in Beaumont. Supplies include pet food, crates, beds, bowls, litter and litter pans, as well as a generator, fans, tents, a battery charger and lights to assist the volunteers on site who are caring for the companion animals.