Results tagged “pets” from Petfinder Blog

As of 12:00 PM Central Time, September 12, the Houston SPCA had activated its Animal Response Hotline. Operators will be accepting lost and found reports, rescue reports, and offering other animal-related information. The Animal Response Disaster Hotline, pictured at right, will be staffed Friday from noon to 6 PM, and 10 AM to 6 PM on following days. Call notes are available so those who call in after hours may leave a message which will be returned first thing the next morning. The TOLL FREE NUMBER is 877-661-0161 or 713-861-0161.

(Read more about the Houston SPCA Animal Response Hotline and rescue efforts after the jump.)

After mandatory evacuation orders from the Governor of Texas, people and pets are fleeing Hurricane Ike. You can read a blog about the Houston SPCA's on-the-ground work, rescuing pets and providing shelter for evacuees' pets.

At left, above, workers at the Houston SPCA set up temporary homes for evacuated pets.

Thanks, Houston SPCA, for being there for pets!

Texas residents should call 2-1-1 for pet evacuation information:

"The 2-1-1 operators assist evacuees with other information, and operational animal shelters are another important piece of information the operators can provide evacuees," said Dr. Matt Cochran, emergency management veterinarian with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. The TAHC is one of more than 30 agencies on Texas' Emergency Management Council for the Governor's Division of Emergency Management."

Reminder: Evacuating pets must be in carriers.

Petfinder urges residents of the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana, from Port Mansfield, Texas to Cameron, Louisiana--and including the towns of Galveston and Houston, Texas to prepare themselves--and their pets--for disaster. Hurricane Ike promises to be a savage storm, likely a Category 3 or 4 hurricane with winds of up to 130 m.p.h. and a storm surge of 20 ft. that will flood not just low-lying areas, but possibly parts of Houston, as well.

Visit our Disaster Preparedness page, where you will find a Disaster Plan and a Disaster Plan Checklist and many other tips and tools to help ready your pets and your family for the storm. Here, again are some steps you can take today to ensure your pets' safety.

Quick Tips for Disaster Preparation

-- Prepare your disaster plan and review it with all your family members.

-- Take photos of your pet with your cell phone. If you and your pet become separated, the pictures will help rescue groups reunite you more easily.

-- Have a pet carrier ready for your pet in case of evacuation. You will need a carrier for safe transport in your car and for any public evacuation transportation. Also, emergency shelters will not take pets without carriers. Write the pet's name and your cell phone number on the top of the carrier, in permanent ink.

-- If you do have to evacuate, take your pet with you. We learned from Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Don't risk your pet's safety and life.

South Texas residents, beware! Here comes Hurricane Ike. Currently a Category 2 Hurricane, Ike is predicted to make landfall on the U.S. mainland on Saturday, September 13, possibly as a Category 3 hurricane.

Texas Gulf coast residents are already being warned to prepare for disaster and plans have been put in place for evacuations and emergency shelters.

The Environmental News Service reports:

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is making hurricane housing resources for communities available on the agency's website. The department will contact community action agencies in the projected path of the storm and advise them that they may be called upon to serve more people.

Texas Animal Health Commission is coordinating with its member agencies and encouraging residents to call 2-1-1 for the latest shelter information for pets and livestock.

The Emergency Management Council and State Operations Center are fully activated. The State Operations Center is closely monitoring Hurricane Ike, and holding twice daily conference calls with federal, state and local officials, private industry partners, volunteer organizations, and the National Weather Service.

Petfinder reminds residents in the storm's path of some of the important steps to take to prepare your pets for emergencies. Find disaster preparation tips after the jump.

September 3, 2008--The Weather Channel is reporting about the big difference for pets during Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Katrina. With Gustav, pet evacuations were a top priority for 

Sept.1, 2008--The Kansas City Star reports that pets in Hurricane Gustav's path have been getting better treatment this time around:

Three years after pet owners were reduced to tears while being forced to leave their dogs and cats in neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, emergency response officials are taking extraordinary care to ensure animal safety during Hurricane Gustav.

At the bus station, a designated pick-up point for evacuees, a pet registration center was set up under green tents. Dozens of white pet-traveling crates were stacked against the curb.

"We're making sure the pets go where their owners go," said Sandy Cochran, South Carolina state coordinator with United Animal Nations, who came to New Orleans to help with the effort. "During Katrina, there was really no plan for what to do with pets.

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Before pet owners boarded a bus, they filed out paperwork about their animal and were given a paper bracelet with a code number on it, she said. That code number was then written on the traveling crate along with the names of the pet and owner.

The pets were loaded onto 18-wheel trucks, which follow their buses to their destination. Every two hours, the truck driver stops to check on the animals, which are fed, watered and kept cool.

A veterinarian was on stand-by at the registration tent to treat sick or injured animals, Cochran said. State officials said they requested about 150 trucks to help transport pets out of the city.

Thankfully, it seems the painful lessons learned during Katrina about how to care for pets in disaster situations are paying off in Hurricane Gustav. We are also very thankful for the disaster preparedness steps taken by the Best Friends Animal Society:

As with Hurricane Katrina, our Rapid Response team was first on the ground last week, helping local agencies prepare for Gustav. Over the past few days, we've helped move hundreds of shelter animals out of the area, to neighboring states.

And today, when we heard people with pets were being turned away from evacuation buses (because they didn't have pet carriers!), our team responded with three thousand pet carriers to be sure those folks could evacuate with their pets.

When we confirmed with officials that still some pet owners left pets behind, in back yards and tied to porches, our staff stayed on to help animal officials get those pets to shelter, too.